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Can anybody define LOW OUTPUT...?

Hi. I'm currently pursuing the insanity of trying to decide on and purchase a really, really good used low output MC (only because it seems - in theory at least - that there's more detail to be had there). At any rate, my phono stage was designed for a Linn Troika cartridge (low output - 100µV - that was a MU - in case you don't have a mac also!) - yet I've been looking at some van den Hul low-output MCs that are something like 5-6 TIMES higher output than this - I'd imagine that would put the vdH at LEAST in the MEDIUM output camp. Am I missing something here? Can anyone APPROXIMATELY delimit (spell out for me) the boundaries of what is commonly considered low, medium and high output?

Thanks much.
Jonathan
letranger

Showing 1 response by cmk

cmk
397 posts
 
Is the Troica's output really that low?

As a rough guage, IMO only and YMMV,
Low < 0.4mv
Med 0.4 - 1.x mv
Hi >2mv

What's more important is the matching of the cart's output to the phono's gain.

For the low output MCs, gain required is approx >60db, med output you could get by with >50db, and the high output require about >40db.

I maybe wrong, so if someone else can shed more light, pls go ahead.
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