which is better ? MC phono stage or MM+step-up ?

IME you can get excellent results with an SUT but the cartridge and the SUT must be matched for best results, including all the loading issues, as cartridges have loading issues and SUTs have loading issues of their own and neither can be ignored. That is why they have to matched, so that when the SUT is properly loaded, so is the cartridge.

However I have found the transformers anywhere in the audio chain represent a loss of bandwidth and detail with added distortion. It is in the phono section that they potentially represent the least effect, but as they are located at the very first place the signal will pass through, any issues they have are compounded by the gain and distortion of everything downstream. Now that might not be so bad if an active stepup (that is also being considered) is poorly designed, but it is obvious that a properly designed phono section that has enough gain will give any SUT a run for the money.

Sometimes though you do find certain people who cannot tolerate any noise (and therefore may prefer digital on this account, despite analog being better in every other way). For anyone who has noise issues SUTs represent an excellent compromise. IOW it is possible, using and SUT, to get signal to noise ratios in the -90 db range.

In a nutshell: for maximum transparency and bandwidth go direct if you can. For minimum noise go with an SUT.

With less than state of the art equipment IMMV!

That explains why I like the SUT, because I don't have SOTA equipment. Far from it.
Ralph on the other hand makes state of the art gear and I am sure is well versed in the potentialities from the various methods of vinyl playback.
Being a old audiophile, I would admit that I have some bias towards some methods. I prefer lomcs,SUTs,electrostatics and tubes. With the exception of lomcs and tubes I am very much "out of vogue". Especially when you consider my Acoustats require considerable power and present somewhat challenging loads for amplifiers. In contrast the vogue is low power SETs and horns or very high efficiency dynamic "sound coffins". LOL! I couldn't resist.

One thing that most of us agree on: vinyl rules! So whatever method you choose or prefer,it is (IMHO) still better than digital.

We all like what we like. That is one of the things that makes this hobby so interesting.

Thank you Emorrisiv!

My pleasure Nolitan.

e

Well my 2 cents is that I am using an on board phono stage off my Audio Research SP9MKIII with a LOMC (.5mv) and I have never had a more smooth, open, detailed, warm and "live" sound than I do now. But I am lucky in that the on board phono stage had 67db of gain right out of the gate, so all I had to do was adjust the impedence to 100 0hms to match the cart and away I went.