How is LAMM LP2 compares to the more recent phono

Dear Jtimothya, With an external SUT thru the MM input, the cartridge will almost surely not "see" 47K ohms. It will see 47K divided by the square of the turns ratio of the external SUT, whatever that turns out to be. I also think Thuchan and Syntax can have any phono stage they want and that they both prefer the Lamm to the ones you mention, but they will speak for themselves.

Jtimothya, Of course I was not put off at all. I was just correcting the impression you left re the resistance seen by the cartridge thru a SUT hooked to the MM input. I know you are an experienced knowledgeable person, so I figured you just misspoke. But there are less experienced folks who read these threads who might have been misled. No offense was intended, and it is I who must apologize if you thought so.

As to the other remark, I don't know what the problem was with that. Thuchan and Syntax seem quite taken with the Lamm, is all I was saying. I doubt either is thinking much about cost.

If you are doing a private "A/B" comparison in the context of your own system, it is always a good idea to do "A/B/A". In other words, if you are familiar with A, then listen to B for a while until you really are used to it. Then switch back to A and have another listen. Often this is very revealing, not only of the vicissitudes of our sensory apparatus but also of the placebo effect. In other words, if you know you replaced 5842s with WE417s, or capacitor X with capacitor Y that costs more, it is impossible to have an unbiased opinion of the result.

Suteetat, In your defense, I think upgrading the phono stage can be "heard" regardless of turntable, since the two devices manifest themselves in very different ways. Then too, a better phono stage prepares you for a better turntable at a later date, not to say there is anything "wrong" with the ones you already own or plan on buying.