MC transformers - what do they sound like?

I was not thinking so much of an attempt to compensate, rather a better interaction btwn either an SUT or a gain stage with a certain kind of cartridge or line stage, or amplifier. Just a question, I have no idea if that is true or if any generalizations can be made.

This is a very interesting thread. David12, you are right on the money. While for certain goals or design criteria, a certain design approach (step up vs gain) may be superior, its highly unlikely that any individual design does not involve compromise. Picking one design approach vs another is the easy part, based on your design criteria; effective implementation is the hard part if cost is a factor. I am looking forward to continued discussion on this, but mostly, I would love to hear a demonstration. One additional thought or question I would throw in the mix is this- are there certain upstream or downstream choices that affect the step up vs gain stage decision, all other factors being equal? I have no idea and look forward to comments from others.

Wow, Raul- Not only impressive, but I would love to hear one in my system. When do you go into production ;~)