I agree that your problem is unlikely to be in the loading, usually too little capacitance causes a droop in the midrange. Of course it is possible that this could appear as a treble boost. In the far off days when I was an Ortofon dealer the company offered a special clip on "Cap 210" to smooth out the frequency response. The American importer had, of course, never heard of it. The kit is in Art Dudley's column, from August this year I think. It is $49.95, not bad as was $29.95 in 1980. But try the VTA as MOFI suggests, it is free.
Phono Stage Question
While speaking with a fellow Audiogoner, the topic of how the capacitance "figure" is used mainly on MM/MI cartridges was brought up. This is where a change on the capacitance loading value affects the frequency response, especially on the high frequencies.
I was told that if my cartridge is a MC then I do not have to worry about this issue. However, if I own an MM/MI, then I need to have a phono stage that permits capacitance value changes.
I recently switched to an Ortofon Black, which is a 5mV output MM cartridge on my Music Hall MMF-7 TT. I am currently trying to break it in, and will be checking for proper VTA, etc. as hours are accumulated on this cartridge. I currently have this directly routed to a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum integrated amp with an internal phono stage. When I switched cartridges to the higher output MM cartridge (as directed), I immediately started noticing distortion in the higher frequencies. Again, I now realize there will be a break in period and possible adjustments on the new cartridge, but my question goes beyond this area.
My question is this: Other than the EAR 324 at $5K, are there any other less expensive good phono stages that permit capacitance value changes (pF adjustments), all in an effort to limit distortion on MM/MI cartridges as I move forward?
Thanks for the help!
I was told that if my cartridge is a MC then I do not have to worry about this issue. However, if I own an MM/MI, then I need to have a phono stage that permits capacitance value changes.
I recently switched to an Ortofon Black, which is a 5mV output MM cartridge on my Music Hall MMF-7 TT. I am currently trying to break it in, and will be checking for proper VTA, etc. as hours are accumulated on this cartridge. I currently have this directly routed to a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum integrated amp with an internal phono stage. When I switched cartridges to the higher output MM cartridge (as directed), I immediately started noticing distortion in the higher frequencies. Again, I now realize there will be a break in period and possible adjustments on the new cartridge, but my question goes beyond this area.
My question is this: Other than the EAR 324 at $5K, are there any other less expensive good phono stages that permit capacitance value changes (pF adjustments), all in an effort to limit distortion on MM/MI cartridges as I move forward?
Thanks for the help!
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- 9 posts total
- 9 posts total