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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
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.
inna
7,296 posts
 
Goldring 1042 MM to begin with; $320 plus shipping from the UK. Those cheap MCs are unlikely to do it for you considering the kind of music you listen to whether they will sound bright or not. That's not the main point - they won't have enough weight, punch and substance.
Ortofon Black is almost $700 and Clearaudio Maestro is around $1000; they might or might not be overall better for you.
By the way, do you have a motor controller for your Rega? You may want to get it, either Rega or Heed.
hifihvn
943 posts
 
If you do add a lower value on, 47k is so high, you may not even need to pay any attention to it being there, especially adding something on like 1k(1000 ohms), or less. Be careful if you use the clip idea, make sure they're not touching anything else.
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