CONUNDRUM

That Maestro Cartridge has a 3.6 mv output. Do you have your PH7 set to the MM or low gain setting?

You have a great phono stage and preamp. I'd try and get a moving coli in the .5mv-1mv range. What about a Lyra Delos? Big step up in sound quality I suspect, it's not warm cartridge but it has warmth in a balanced way. Won't break the bank to much either.

You can also step up i the clearaudio line...to their moving coils. If you really want warm I'd try a koetsu. Just depends on your price what model.

What arm and table? Need to match here to.

I have a rather low end table-Clearaudio Emotion with stock arm. I heard the Concerto cart is good @ reproduction, while not emphasizing surface noise. I really need suggestions on the cartridge. You say the Koetsu?

Handymann, I think I already responded to another OP that you started about this issue. As previously mentioned, I own an ARC PH-7 and Ref 5. Jfrech's advice is ok, but the PH-7's gain output cannot be adjusted. There are no switches or knobs to do this. As I see it, your "obvious" choices are simple if you are clipping your pre: change the pre, change your phono stage,or change the cartridge.

At one time, I also owned the Maestro. It's may very well be the best MM cartridge on the market today. I'm sure you are not excited to lose it, but a carty is less expensive than a pre or phono stage.

I have two suggestions that you may want to explore for viability. I've never gone down this road, but it be may worth asking. Call Tom Tutay at Transition Audio Design in Florida and ask if he can rig: (1) some type of an attenuator to cool down the PH-7's gain without degradation of the signal to the pre; and/or (2) a SDT (step-down tranny) to reduce the output signal of the Maestro that is fed into the PH-7.

FWIW

Addendum: Tom Tutay is very solid. I used him to build a very custom impedance buffer that summed L/R channels and corrected an asymetrical loading problem. That's about as "custom" as it gets. I reiterate my suggestion to call him. Perhaps other folks who know Tom could weigh in with approbations.

Handymann: In the event of signal overload, I sometimes use interconnect cables that have a built-in two-resistor network that attenuate the signal by a fixed amount. Since only two resistors are used (one series, one shunt), and the attenuator is built into the RCA connector plug right before the line stage input, there isn't much degradation in sound.

You need to determine by how many decibels you need to attenuate the signal from the PH-7, figure out (or ask someone) a resistor network pair that attenuates the signal by the desired amount without stressing the PH-7, then build (or have someone build) that resistor pair into the RCA connector of a decent-quality interconnect cable.

Since the modification will be to the interconnect and not to the phono stage or line preamp, the work should be fairly simple, and won't affect the resale value of the ARC or Aesthetix.

hth, jonathan carr