@newtoncr ,
both Boulder 1008/1108 vs Van den Hul the Grail SB seem to be excellent choices, but they're using different technologies.
Generally speaking, in a cartridge the more coiled wire turnings, the greater both the voltage output and internal impedance. Likewise, the less coiled wire turnings, the lower both the voltage output and the lower internal impedance.
Like the Boulder, most mainstream phono stages amplify the "voltage". So generally speaking, the lower the output cartridge voltage, the more the phono stage has to increase/multiply which in turn often lead to more distortion.
The VDH Grail uses a much rarer form of amplification - "current". The lower the internal impedance, the greater the current (Ohms Law).
So in a nutshell, the lower the cartridge's output voltage (associated with lower internal impedance), the greater the VDH current (a good thing) or the greater the voltage must be magnified by the Boulder (a potential bad thing - multiplying any distortion). This doesn't necessarily mean that one is better than another, rather, your cartridge output may be an influencing purchasing factor.
FWIW, I recently purchased the VDH Grail SB because of the "black" backgrounds and favor low output/low impedance cartridges: less coils > less magnetic resistance > faster cantilever > cleaner music.
both Boulder 1008/1108 vs Van den Hul the Grail SB seem to be excellent choices, but they're using different technologies.
Generally speaking, in a cartridge the more coiled wire turnings, the greater both the voltage output and internal impedance. Likewise, the less coiled wire turnings, the lower both the voltage output and the lower internal impedance.
Like the Boulder, most mainstream phono stages amplify the "voltage". So generally speaking, the lower the output cartridge voltage, the more the phono stage has to increase/multiply which in turn often lead to more distortion.
The VDH Grail uses a much rarer form of amplification - "current". The lower the internal impedance, the greater the current (Ohms Law).
So in a nutshell, the lower the cartridge's output voltage (associated with lower internal impedance), the greater the VDH current (a good thing) or the greater the voltage must be magnified by the Boulder (a potential bad thing - multiplying any distortion). This doesn't necessarily mean that one is better than another, rather, your cartridge output may be an influencing purchasing factor.
FWIW, I recently purchased the VDH Grail SB because of the "black" backgrounds and favor low output/low impedance cartridges: less coils > less magnetic resistance > faster cantilever > cleaner music.