MC phono stage without transformer?

FYI, Viva makes their own transformers. Also, the Sowter 8055 SUT is what Michael Elliott of Counterpoint/Alta Vista Audio/Aria fame prefers and uses.

Another contender for a high gain all tube phono stage is the Wavestream Kinetics fro Scott Frankland.

I, for one, did not read Raul's comment as implying that his way was the only way. I believe, as he states above, that he was simply hoping that something in what he said would lend some perspective that might render some future improvement.

Obviously, there are innumerable ways to approach a high gain phono stage, all of which present significant challenges and trade offs. IMHO, rather than concluding a king of the hill design approach, the value of this wonderful thread is in shedding light on the many roads to Rome.

Re: RIAA accuracy, although it is true that between room interactions and speaker inaccuracies most systems exhibit gross deviations from flat, the mastering process, not to mention tracking and mixing, typically involves tweeking the EQ as little as .2dB. The fact that most systems editorialize the engineer's work doesn't, and shouldn't, stop us (engineers) from working our art at whatever resolution we are inspired to.

"...I don't think one should approach the problem by setting any arbitrary "rules" regarding..."

This is what this whole thread has become about. In this relative world we live in there are simply no absolutes. At the risk of this becoming an absolute, having first accepted this, we can have inteligent discourse about the effective relationships involved. I think that Lewm's impedance "rule" is a perfect example. Many of the norms in speaker design that have become acceptable are at least as compromised as deeming transformer use in phono stages acceptable. Having said that I think that Raul's point re: the implied messages to the industry we endorse is an excellent one.