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Step up transformer for Benz Ebony TR cartridge

Friends, I have a good offer on a Benz Ebony LP and Benz Ebony TR. I have not heard either of them. I would ideally like a clean, fast and natural sounding cartridge. Recently I heard a Lyra Delos on a Rega P9 and RB1000 tonearm, while it was clean and fast it had a very CD like presentation. On good recordings it was great but on average recordings the high frequency was very CD like. I did not enter the Vinyl world to hear a CD like thing, no matter how high the resolution might be. IMO, analogue playback can remain or retain its analogue character still retrieve tons of details and play high resolution.
This is exactly my expectation from one of the Benz carts here. Reading the reviews, I felt the TR is more suitable for my taste which is to have a neutral and fast cartridge while still retaining the full glory of analogue playback. I listen to a lot of Rock n Roll (e.g Elvis) and old world classics so the cartridge should not over blow defects in the recordings but reveal the true character of the music that is on the record. In this context I have two questions:

1. Which of the two cartridge would be more suitable to my needs, Ebony TR or Ebony LP ?

2. If I go with Ebony TR, what kind of step up transformer would I need ? I currently use a RCM Sensor Prelude phonostage which has a gain of 76 db but I am not sure that is enough for the very low output voltage of Ebony TR. Can anyone suggest a suitable step up transformer which is not too expensive yet does justice to the TR ?

BTW, I use Verdier turntable and a Vector Basis 4 tonearm. The Verdier is neutral yet warm, very revealing yet a tad romantic. I would like to avoid a cartridge which is on the darker side of the neutral. If I have to err, I would like to have something on the livelier side of the neutral.

Please help and suggest.
pani
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
I have an Ebony TR (not the S) and it has .2mV output. I use it will a Linn Linto with 62.5dB gain and it is fine with that amplification. I believe that the newer S drops to .1mV. Rest of the system is Cary SLP 05 and Levinson 432. I have the Cary attenuate the signal since the signal from the Linto is pretty strong.

The LP is the top of the line Benz. It has a .35mV output. Either should work with a good quality 60 dB phono stage.

KAP USA has a gain calculator for phono stages

Gain Calculator
bluewolf's avatar
bluewolf
66 posts
 
I would have, but I managed to buy an Omnigon preamp which incorporates SUTs similar to the Syntax SUT.
pani OP
1,219 posts
 
Bluewolf, that preamp of yours seems absolutely esoteric!! No wonder it will suit amazingly well the Ebony TR. Please do write here what you think about it.

In the mean time, I confirmed with the manufacturer of my phonostage (RCM Audio) and they said the Ebony TR is meant to be used with a SUT, the TR = Transformer. Also they said that my phonostage has roughly about 66db of gain for the full spectrum. The 76db spec is taken at 1khz and in that state there is a possibility of signal loss in the frequency extremes. Moreover the output impedance of the Ebony TR is only 1 ohm which is not a good case for the active phonostage.

In this scenario I have to seriously look out for a decent SUT which doesnt cost much yet does justice to an expensive cart like the Ebony TR. I was looking at the Bob's devices, Silvercore and Dave Slagle (Intact Audio) products. I want to keep it within $700. Any suggestions please ?
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
I want to keep it within $700. Any suggestions please ?

Some years ago I tried different SUT's from well known Manufacturers and -
honestly - most were bad, the best from them maybe average.
The majority colors the sound (based on their average specs), a
"blind" selection is like rolling a dice.
Super (= accurate) SUT's are hardly used in High End audio, they are very
expensive and destroy every profit and when the customer buys a "Black
Box"
Anyway ...
Maybe the old Fidelity Research units will give a good result (they do) or a
Cotter unit.
Analog reproduction is a chain, to amplify a 0.10mV cartridge for 100% is a
task. 0.25mV or 0.30mV is also low, but much easier to handle.
pani OP
1,219 posts
 
Thanks Syntax for the advice.

I have two questions here:
1. Whether it is Cotter or Fidelity research, is it enough to just see the gain amount (e.g 1:20) or do I have to see any other spec so as to make sure the SUT is compatible with my cartridge. For example, one of the SUT manufacturer wrote back to me that the 1 ohm output impedance of Ebony TR is a special case and so he will have custom make an SUT for me. So, is there really something special about a 1ohm output impedance as far as matching an SUT is concerned ?

2. Would you be able to give any specific model numbers of Cotter or FR to look for, or are you saying that any model from these manufacturer is good enough?
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