Best MC step up transformer

Kevin has a new upgrade in the works that is absolutely killer!

Parts dipped in holy water?

I use a Lyra Erodin. Very transparent, does not color the sound and let's the cartridge do its thing.

Dear Syntax, no voodoo here. Kevin doesn't believe in it. By changing an active device to one with a different transfer function you can effect a real change. Not the usual audiofool crap. In this case existing JFETs are swapped for MOSFETs at the input. I have been listening to the change for almost 3 weeks now, playing with the bias to find the "sweet spot", and can report that in some ways the change is quite profound. Gone are all traces of the somewhat "wiry" JFET sound; replaced by a more open, nuanced tube-like sound. However, if you are a fan of the JFET sound this mod may not be for you.

Hey Jjrenman,
Well said. Even considering the excellent parts quality in the preamp I tested it with, when you replace a GOOD element in the delicate MC signal path (say, the designer chose an in-built $200 output transformer) with a GREAT $1200 SUT, there's simply no contest. It's probably akin to replacing a $5000 preamp with phono with a $20,000 preamp with phono.

And yes, ONLY if your cart likes it. Mine does. Bob made sure of that when I ordered it... No guesswork!

I have tried just about every transformer out there over the years. The Verion Cotter is at the very top. Lately Quicksilver is making a tremendous unit for a very reasonable price. The Old Denon au 340 is also very good but must be modified to be at its best. I did not like the lundahls. They were highly colored and measured poorly. Also regardless of what people say microphone transformers are deficienct in the midrange and are thick sounding. The best are usually unobtainable. A very good bet is the Music first which uses the Stevens and Billington tx103s. Expensive though