Cartridge Loading

Whether a certain cartridge with a certain load in a certain audio chain under certain conditions does sound wonderful or not to certain ears does not tell too much.
As cartridges too do suffer from the lack of real standardization of its electrical or mechanical parameters, we have to fine-tune each and any cartridge to meet its best performance in relation to its surrounding components and their very specific electrical/mechanical parameters.
This is true for MM, MI, MC and foremost LOMC.
Each is different - hey, - thats why we love analog don't we ?

Dertonarm is absolutely correct on this one. BTW I have yet to see a MM that actually loads correctly at 47K. Most are more like half that and I have seen Grados that are closer to 10K.

And we will run into some MI carts which will love 100k......... endless story. Wished we had a fraction of the standards we see in most other segments of technical life on earth.

I agree with Dertonarm.

I am currently experiencing my first go at loading with a lomc.
I have a Benz Gold on a VPI HMW 19/Audioquest-Jelco arm going to a NAD PP2.the rest of the system is:
Audio Alchemy DLC line stage
Hafler 220 power amp
Acoustat model 2 electrostatics
Morrow Audio MA1 interconnects
Anti Cable speaker cables

The NAD comes with a load of 100ohm.I did some research and found out that the load resistors are in R50 and R60 on the PCB. I replaced the 100ohm with 1kohm.The sound was immediately much better.So being the warm blooded American boy I am I tried 10kohms.
Now we are really talking good here. I know this gear is old and/or cheap, but my ears are not inexperienced and I think this is one of the best sounds I have heard EVER!
The inner details are as good as I have ever heard.
The dynamics are much more dynamic,there is so much more texture and refinement.Still smooth, still has bass heft and authority only more controlled and defined.
The sound stage is wider,taller, and much deeper.I believe that a big part of this is that the sound floor is significantly lower.
I call this, beginners luck.But never the less, if the charm of vinyl had not beckoned,I would never had done it, and had missed out on so much enjoyment.
This is why we do this hobby.

e

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.

This short guide defines my experience to a tee: Jasmine LP2.0SE > DV10x5 > Rega P3.

The Jasmine has 4 settings (30ohms; 100ohms; 250ohms; 1Kohms). At the suggested cart load for the DV10x5 (1K) it's way to bright, highs distort and bass is muddy - in my current system. Same but to a lesser degree at 250ohms. 100ohms works best in my system. Well below the recommended load impedance but with the best over all results.