I am of the opinion that you want as little as possible between the cartridge and your phono stage. I want one wire, cartridge clips to XLRs (or RCAs). The Schroder arms do not even have a solder joint in the way. They use Litzed wires which are a PITA to solder.
Do 5-pole DIN tonearm connectors deteriorate the sound?
I am in the process of completely rewiring my new Woody tonearm (https://vtaf.com/woody-tm-universaltm-tonearms.html#/), sitting on a custom-made Lenco-recreation by Peter Reinders (http://www.ptpaudio.com/solid9.html). My new cartridge for this set-up is the Audio Technica ART 1000.The signal goes from the TT into my Supratek Grange phono-stage/preamp via a custom-made phono cable that is foil-shielded and also carries the TT grounding wire. Currently I have issues with hiss and a deep background hum, indicating bad shielding of the tonearm wires and some grounding issues. So, I decided to completely re-wire the Woody and the phono cable. The latter is currently soldered directly to the tonearm wires (34 AWG copper). I also have a ProJect 10 Carbon TT with a BenzMicro LPS cartridge. This TT has an internal 5-point DIN connector linking the tonearm wires to the phono cable.
Here is my question: has - in the experience of this esteemed forum - the 5-pole DIN connection a noticeable effect on the sound? After all, we are talking about very low voltages here, so - at least in theory - a direct connection from the phono cartridge to the preamp would be ideal. However, because of the small wire gauge (34 AWG 6N silver by Zavfino), I would probably run into resistance and capacitance issues for a 3 feet run. I would rather put the DIN plug in place to have a clean transition between the TT-wires and the phono wire, but I am not sure if this would lead to a sonic compromise. Of course, I could just try both configurations and try to hear a difference, but first, I am interested in the science behind this question, and second, I don't really have the time for trial-and-error.
Your input will be highly appreciated.
Showing 2 responses by mijostyn
@lewm . Isn't your BMC balanced? I can not separate having a current mode phono stage from running balanced as they happened together. There is no question to my ears that the combination of the two is distinctly better especially when it comes to bass and that is most definitely not psychological. Some Reed arms have removable arm wands adding an additional connection. They offer the wands in different EFs which is good for cartridge matching but I refer the Schroder approach of supplying different cartridge mounting plates. Having experienced problems with various tonearm connections in the past I avoid them religiously. Theoretically the lower the cartridge output the worse they are so I think you are wise to use straight wired arms with your low output cartridges. I think you can also order Kuzma arms straight wired. I am not totally sure.
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