Cartridge Loading

If plug-n-play better suits your style, I'd suggest sticking to MM's. You'll save both money and time. LOMC's not only cost more, they take more work if you care about sound (and I assume you do, else you wouldn't have asked).

I hate to disagree (once again) with Doug:)...but he must have seen J Carr's reponse to the question of loading for MC cartridges 9copied below)

You are very crisp with your technical specifications, however, you openly offer a wide range for catrige loading (100 Ohms to 47 kOhms). Why such a range?

First, because the loading of a low-impedance MC is not really an issue for the cartridge itself. An MC cartridge is a mechanically-driven electrical generator, and a not-very-efficient one at that. Unlike loudspeaker drivers, the meager efficiency of a low-impedance MC cartridge implies that loading applied in the electrical domain will have relatively little effect in the mechanical domain (which is where you will see effects on aspects like tracking performance and distortion). Also, due to the very low inductance of the signal coils, electrical loading will have practically no effect on any signals in the audible range, and this has other benefits in keeping a relatively flat phase response in the audible domain (a general rule of thumb for good phase response out to 20kHz is that the electrical frequency range should extend to at least 200kHz). This is a completely different situation with high-inductance MMs and MIs, where changing the loading will affect the frequency response in the audible range, and the phase response even more so.

So, if electrical loading doesn't change the behavior of the phono cartridge in the audible frequency range by much, why does the sound change so dramatically? The answer is that the inductance of the cartridge coils will resonate with the capacitance of the tonearm cable (and distributed capacitance of the coil windings) and create a high-frequency spike. The magnitude of this spike can be extremely high, and may give many phono stages outright problems if it isn't damped with loading measures at the phono stage input. I don't have my lab notes at hand, but from memory loading a Delos with 47kohm can result in a 28dB spike at 6~7MHz. Some phono stages will have been designed so that they remain unflustered by this, but many phono stages will not be happy with such brutal treatment, and will not sound good because of this.

This pretty much matches my own experiences and is confirmed by the design of the Halcro DM10 Preamp which has a fixed MC loading of 220 Ohms but an infinitely variable resistance between 10K and 60K ohms for MM/MI and an infinitely variable capacitance between 70uF and 430uF also for MM/MI.
This may also have something to do with the philosophy of simplifying the electrical path for the extremely low output signals of LOMC and MCs in general.
Having played extensively with the adjustments of Resistance and Capacitance for my Garrott P77 MM cartridge and hearing the enormous differences, I can assure you that it is not a "plug-n-play" alternative to MCs and may in fact be the reverse?

I would love to hear Raul's opinion on this one?

Sorry Doug :)

Well Halcro,
now I beg to differ with you - and go with Doug KISS aproach :-)
I been chasing my tail with MC loading, SUT (with and without primary and secondary loading) and with every value you want to imagine --- result?
MM sound simply better going into 47k and using that +/- 100pF capacitance, that comes with my arm and phono-cable.

Now as you say: you may still get things yet better (one always seems to at least in ones own mind) but the simple "plug & play" as mentioned by Doug, so far has out performed all my MCs ---- quite that simple, eh.
Of course as always YMMV :-)
Greetings,
Axel

Well, Halcro, you know, the most important from all, is, that the cartridge fits to the tonearm.
Next is, copying something from a manufacturer is nice but more or less without any worth.Every one has his own religion. A horrible sounding preamp does not get any better with any load, one of the reasons, why these discussions are always endless.
Next, 100 ohms from Preamp A are not identical to 100 ohms from Preamp B.
That's one reason why there are so many different sounding units are out there.
Ernst Benz made all cartridges for 47kohms. Later the manuals were changed to 10-47kohms, it makes the sale much easier and the Dealer can say "yes" to everything the customer has at home.
Best is always to try with the given Preamp, when that one will be replaced the game starts again.
And you need a Turntable which can show the real difference, not a colored result based on its construction.
Happy Listening.

Agree with Halcro.

I have much experience with MM/MI cartridges and they are hardly plug and play.

Doug needs to walk before he runs.

Short:
47 kohm when you have a preamp which can do it without sounding thin, dead and analytical
1kohm when you have a normal preamp
below 200ohms when you have a very analytical and harsh sounding high end System and you want to soften it.
or
MM Phono and a matching high quality Step Up.