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MC loading at 47K

Hi All,

Just after some expert advice from your good selves if I may. My current system is as follows:

Musical Fidelity KW550 intergrated amp which has a MM and MC section, both loaded at 47K. The only difference between them is the step up voltage.

My turntable is the Rega P9 with Ortofon Kontrapunkt A.

Looking at changing my cartridge but honestly cant decide between MM or MC.

My music taste are as follows:

Reggae
Soul
Female Vocal
RNB

No classical or jazz.

So what should I choose based I'm only limited to a 47K loading. I was thinking either of the below:

1. Ortofon Jubilee (MC)
2. Ortofon 2M black (MM)
3. Clear Audio Maestro (MM)

Is there a down side to loading up a MC so much?

Thoughts please...thanks
che13
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Hifihvn,
It has 47K for both MC and MM. Not too many low output MC carts will benefit from being loaded @47k. I would connect a resistor in-parallel when switching to MC. It could be done in any phono unit.
hifihvn
943 posts
 
I put the link there for Lindisfarne, and others to see what the OP has to work with.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
Some folks including Charles Hansen (Ayre) and the late Allen Wright recommended running all MCs at 47kOhms. I think Harry Pearson (HP) of The Absolute Sound recommended it too (don't know if he still does). I tried it and liked it with a Denon DL-103 although I'm currently running that one at 500 Ohms. I'm not sure but I believe the "thinness" will have to do more with the phonostage than anything else. If Musical Fidelity loads both MMs and MCs at 47K, they must think MCs sound okay that way.
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hifihvn
943 posts
 
I think the best thing is to see what others use for loading the cartridge you like, then get some cheap resistors from RS, or whatever place you could, and experiment with different values. The alligator clip idea should be OK. Just make sure your amp is *off* when adding the others on. What others use may save some time, to start with, but still try a large swing in values just in case you like something different. When you find the best sounding value,get a couple of that value in a high quality low noise resistor and solder them in if possible. Some companies do say you could use 47k, but I never found a value that high to work for me either,that I can remember.
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