MC Load Resistance

Dertonarm, I'm not familiar with any MC unit that actually loads correctly at 10 ohms! I imagine that the results might sound like the application of excessive negative feedback, but it is *not* in fact feedback.

Even though the Jensen transformers are some of the best (we offer then as an option), I've yet to hear a situation where they actually sound *better* in all regards. Usually, they help a lot with noise, but the best I've heard over the years, time and time again, they rob the signal of detail and 'air', as well as bass impact.

The exception to that is if the MC signal by itself is too low for the phono stage, then the transformer is a benefit; actually *adding* impact, reducing noise (and thus revealing detail). So from your posts above, is it simply that the phono section you are using falls into that category?

Atmasphere, apparently you totally miss my point - your initial two sentences in your last post seems to imply that...
Anyway - I have built, bought, had and still have active phono stages with gain up to 78 dB. Suitable for almost everything the cartridge industry has ever produced.
Tube based and J-Fet based.
Hybrids too.
All very quiet - you would be happy (and surprised...) with any of them.
Lets further assume, that my playback system is the sonic equal of anything - for any price tag - the industry has (or had) to offer ;-)...
Lets assume further, that I am not deaf.
Lets assume even further that I do have a very precise idea about live-like sound and what REALLY is possible in analog-playback and have (big surprise....) the tools and (even bigger surprise...) the skill to get what I want.
Based on all those assumptions I am favoring a GOOD (wide range...) and WELL-CHOOSEN (skill-depending...) step-up transformer not out of despair or lack of gain.
I favor it because I know and have heard often enough its benefits vs an active gain stage.

That your experience is different is fine with me.
Everybody has and had his own.
Whatever assumption you may have from my posts is - again -fine with me.
And not my problem - nor the problem of others.
Whether anybody wants to follow my suggestion regarding a step-up (and seeing moving coil cartridge and corresponding primary .... and secondary if you want ..... of a step-up transformer as a "team") or not is (...you guess it...) fine with me too.

I know personally five top line cartridge makers, and when quizzed on this question, they all confided to me that they themselves, use 47k. loading.

When asked why they then recommend much lower values in their instructions, they all said it was because of the "fixed opinion" of most reviewers and audiophiles that such low output MCs need a low value resistive load, and that they didn't want to buck the trend!

I have found every cartridge I have owned, or have ever used, sounds more alive and vibrant at 47k - except for one - the unusual IKEDA, which did sound better at around 100 ohms.

IME, loading a cartridge is not the correct path to handle unwanted tonal qualities, changing the connecting cable can do more with less losses. And my own theory on why loading can change the characturistics of a cart is that they all have a HF peak, and loading can flatten this out. But this peak is normally well above audibility, so what's the problem? I say it's overloading a non optimum phono section, and that's the area you should be looking at to really hear what your cartridge can do!.

Regards, Allen (Vacuum State)

Allen, a peak past 'audibility' will have effects not unlike a tube without grid stoppers, exhibiting oscillation; IOW it can behave as if there is excessive ultrasonic energy. This can cause some preamps (not all) to exhibit excessive ticks and pops (in addition to brightness), due to the various instabilities introduced. The effect on the cartridge is easily measured, and without loading often there is more 'air' but when you examine it on the scope you will find that the 'air' is mostly just ringing (distortion).

This is why critical damping is such a nice value to achieve- you get out the the transducer just the signal, without additional 'commentary'. I suspect many cartridge distributors don't listen to any cartridge for very long so it might be that they don't bother, but they are simply missing bet, that's all.

Allenwright, Atmasphere, I do agree with Atmasphere (surprise...?). All (low-output) Moving Coils do need "some" dampening. And yes, - in my experience too that extra "air" is going in most (maybe all) cases along with "lack of body" and has a sense of being "artificial" and "somehow ringing".
Saying this I have to mention, taht back in the late 1980ies and early 1990ies I was a vivid frontman accepting nothing but high gain active phono stages and judging all step-up transformers as a waste of time and money.
In the following years however - mostly by using very low source impedance moving coil carts - I learned that there is more than just gain to a happy marriage between a top-flight mc and the matching transformer.
Knowing 3 cartridge designers personally, I do know that they do care about sound and the last jota of possible performance a lot less than I do.
Still the best "loading" and "dampening" for a low-output (= very often low source impedance) moving coil is in my ears and eyes a matching transformer.