MC phono stage without transformer?

Xronx,
That comparison has been conclusively made, and my Nick Doshi Alaap (FET's for MC gain, tubes for MM and line stage gain) isn't going anywhere. A well known Kondo dealer performed the A/B in his own system last year, using a customer's older Alaap that's actually two generations behind the current reference level. Despite that advantage the Kondo dealer reported that his "high class" ($40K) units got "killed" (his word). He tried to sign up as a Doshi dealer, but since Nick only makes 10-12 preamps a year he doesn't need any more dealers.

I think Ralph summed up this subject well,

This is not so easy for those who have to struggle with a budget, who have sorted out how to get their hands on a low output cartridge but not figured out how to get the gain for it: the SUTs represent a compromise and as good as they get, they will always continue to **be** a compromise.

He might have added that any other solution in the same price range as a good SUT will **also** be a compromise. There are no MC head amps in the $1-2K range of a good SUT that don't also represent a compromise. Swampwalker's ZYX head amp is very good, better than my Bent Audio MU's for example, but it's still compromised vs. reference class equipment in a very revealing system.

For those on a budget however, SUT's and head amps both offer viable and - big point - ENJOYABLE ways into the world of LOMC's.

...the more complexity, the less bandwidth and the less transparency

Words of wisdom!

Dgarretson wrote:

All things being equal in the phono section, are .1-.3mV MC cartridges inherently superior to .4mv and higher cartridges, more cost-effective, or both?

Inherently superior? Yes, if we're comparing two cartridges of otherwise identical designs (e.g., a high output and low output version of the same model). The LOMC will have fewer coils on the armatures, which means lower moving mass, which results in faster rise and decay times, better responsiveness to small modulations and greater peak amplitudes.

Of course actually hearing all this theoretically superior performance requires that the rest of the system be fast and resolving and dynamci enough to push the speed, detail and dynamics through the speakers.

That all sounds like good theory, but is the superiority real? No question about it IME. I've compared high vs. low output versions of the same cartridges from both Benz and ZYX. The differences are always audible, and the better the cartridge the more it seems to matter.

More cost effective? Tough question, and the answers depend not just on one's finances, but also on one's ears and sonic preferences. Those who love rockin' to the solid sound of a good MM might think it a waste of money. Those who get goosebumps from the shocking realism of a great LOMC will gladly spend the money if they can. I don't think anyone could answer this question for anyone but themself.

Obviously a limited budget must make compromises. Even the best transformer, perfectly tuned, will reduce peak amplitudes, flatten waveforms and lose low level detail; it's an inevitable consequence of passing an electrical signal by induction. OTOH, a HOMC also reduces peak amplitudes, flattens waveforms and loses low level detail, but for mechanical reasons rather than electrical ones. (The third choice, an LOMC + inexpensive active gain device will also compromise the sound, though in different ways depending on the device.)

Which is least bad? As usual, it comes down choosing the sonic compromises which work best for your ears and system. You can do this the easy but potentially expensive way (buy different stuff and compare) or the hard but less expensive way (develop a strong internal sense of what sounds right, figure out why, then move continuously toward equipment that brings you closer to that goal for reasons you understand). There's no prefab answer to your question IMO. :-(

SOTA is a different matter. It cannot be attained with any transformer we've heard (5 or 6 in all). Core saturation is one audible problem, though it can be somewhat reduced with good materials. Ultrasonic ringing and its audible zone harmonics are another, though they can be tamed with a Zoebel network. What can't be eliminated are the reduction in peak amplitudes, flattening of waveforms and loss of low level detail. Once the rest of a system reaches a certain level these effects become noticeable, especially if you have a SOTA high gain phono stage handy to compare.

Aw, shucks SirSpeedy! I've met some pretty knowledgeable people here, you included. Correlating what they say with what I hear isn't so hard. What I'm really best at is organizing a structured post. That isn't really knowledge, it's more like bookkeeping. ;-)

Throw in 25 years attendance at the University of Living with Paul, plus 5 years of correspondence classes with the University of Doshi and I realize I *almost* know something. (Neither of them would agree of course!)