Impedance Loading for SS Hyperion

After having much frustration with 6922 tube noise in my Primaluna Evo 100 MC stage, both with tubes going noisy after a brief period, as well as the noticeable noise floor, I decided to hook up a SUP and run the phono in MM mode. For my Soundsmith Hyperion ES MK 2, I chose a set of Llundahl 9926 XLs, set to 1:10 ratio, that I installed in a project box. So, the loading works out to be 470 ohms. The result was nothing short of extraordinary - very low noise, excellent clarity, precise instrument positioning, vast soundstage depth, an overall a lot more realistic sounding. I do not perceive any dullness that would be fixed with higher loading. I had not heard what that cartridge could really do until now, and I’ve heard it through much more expensive fully active phono stages in my system. I can’t recommend this combination highly enough. I also think it’s a testament to the MM stage of that phono preamp. I do feel that the MC stage in it holds it back from its true potential, at least with my setup.

I used the Sussurro MkII ES with a VAS transformer (1:10) and enjoyed it greatly, and found no downside when I resurrected the NuVista Vinyl to using it with an input set to MC. So when I got the Hyperion I plugged it straight into the NuVista.

Prior to using SUT I had the Sussurro connected to an MC input of a Quad 24p, and that was not impressive (loading was fixed at 10Ω).

One strange thing to report, though, is that I recently had to swap in an old power amp (YBA-1ɑ) as one of my Quad II/forty amps developed a fault. The Hyperion now has a slight hum that I had not heard with the Quads. Irritating! I'm curious to see if it resolved when the Quad gets repaired.

Try lifting a ground on the amp or somewhere else? Also, not that this may directly help you in your case, but I was getting hum in the phono section with my new SUT at first. I moved it further away from my power regenerator and that fixed it.

I checked this morning and all four cartridges are humming, the Hyperion least of all. But I've gone from 40W amps to an 85W amp. Turn the volume down on the pre-amp dummy! Problem solved.

It is funny how some times the simple solution is the best one.