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Matching cartridge to phono pre amp. pF!?

I’ve just discovered what pF is. Well, I don’t know what it is but I was told it was important. I have the 2m Bronze and Technics 1210GR. I wanted to upgrade  from the built in phono stage in my pre amp to a separate phono amp. I was looking at the Lehmann line. The Black Cube Se II looked good until I read the specs. Only 100pF. The 2m Bronze MM specs says it prefers 150-300pF. How important is pF and what happens if it’s a bad match. What makes a bad match? Too low? Too high? I’m not sure where to from here or what to look for.
tmac1700

Showing 2 responses by socalml528

socalml528's avatar
socalml528
121 posts
 
Sent this same question to Ortofon last year; here’s their reply:
"The parallel capacitance should be in the range of 150-300pF. The higher the capacitance value of the input of the phono stage, the duller the sound will be. The lower the capacitance the brighter the sound gets. A mismatch results in either a dark dull sound or an over bright distorted signal. The capacitance of the phono cable should be taken into account when matching the cartridge to the phono stage as the capacitance of the cable adds to the capacitance of the phono input."

Since I can adjust pF value on my McIntosh MA352, I just set the value to 100pF per recommendation of McIntosh. I’ve tried 50pF and 150pF and 200pF but 100 pF seems to be the sweet spot for the Ortofon 2M Black.
socalml528's avatar
socalml528
121 posts
 
In short yes, because I told their support line what I was using and what Ortofon recommended. The exact advise was to "start at 100pF" and adjust to hearing / taste.

There's not much data on pF for most interconnects. I did find the interconnect from Pro-Ject listed 100pF in their specifications but to previous points also need to factor in tonearm.

My point is 100 pF is a starting point and trial and error from there. On the MA252 the pF setting is locked in at 50pF.
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