Ortofon Cadenza Black loading

I really like my Icon phono stage. It is fixed at 100 ohms MC.

The industry standard for all cartridges is 47KOhms just so you know.

Take for example the Jan Allaerts MC2, generally considered to be one of the top MC’s with unbelievable specs (how about 70dB channel separation?). It has a coil impedance of 32 ohms and according to the specs the load impedance needs to be set at exactly 845 ohms. Not 800 or even 850, but 845. Why this precision when the result is system dependent and that system is unknown?

If I remember this correctly, Jan Allaerts developed his cartridge using an Isenberg phono stage which happened to use an 845 Ohm loading. So it may be the other way round: The cartridge is designed to work at 845Ohm form the start - everything else is moving away from how it was designed and measured. 

The spec sheet of Lyra Atlas is even more strange: recommended loading is between 104 and 887 ohms. A wide range as usual, but why these very specific numbers at its limits? Perhaps jcarr can explain, as I assume there must be a logical explanation for this.

The range depends on the capacitance of the cable and optimizing the frequency response gives a corresponding value of the loading...those endpoints are calculated values from my understanding - likely based on a rounded capacitance value ;)

Lewm, I don’t see any incompatibility. As you say, loading less than 10x the internal impedance of a cartridge will have an audible effect on its performance, due to voltage drop. This is usually experienced as a loss of output/dynamics and a rolled off treble. If a person likes it that way there’s probably no harm done, but the cartridge will not perform according to specifications.

Loading with values above that 10x number will normally let the cartridge perform as intended. Which explains the often used ’>100 ohms’ recommendation from manufacturers of low impedance MC’s. Based on my own experience I’d say that the loading range between the 10x minimum value and 1000 ohms is most critical in optimizing the sound of the cartridge in relation to the system it’s used in. Higher values seem to be fairly irrelevant to the cartridge performance itself, but the design of the phono amplifier could interfere with electronic resonances, as experts like atmasphere have explained.

All of which still doesn’t explain why certain designers demand a very precise loading value for their cartridges. Obviously they have no idea what phono amp a customer will use with their product?

Take for example the Jan Allaerts MC2, generally considered to be one of the top MC’s with unbelievable specs (how about 70dB channel separation?). It has a coil impedance of 32 ohms and according to the specs the load impedance needs to be set at exactly 845 ohms. Not 800 or even 850, but 845. Why this precision when the result is system dependent and that system is unknown?

The spec sheet of Lyra Atlas is even more strange: recommended loading is between 104 and 887 ohms. A wide range as usual, but why these very specific numbers at its limits? Perhaps jcarr can explain, as I assume there must be a logical explanation for this.

There's something wrong or very different about what I wrote compared to what Edgewear wrote?  My advice is totally compatible with his.

Dear @bajaed  : Agree with @edgewear post. Follow that way.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

In case there is anyone on this thread who does not already know this, the convention is to load the cartridge with a resistance that is at least 10 times that of the internal resistance of the cartridge itself. Therefore, a typical low output moving coil cartridge that will have an internal resistance of about 10 ohms can be loaded with 100 ohms, but it can also be loaded with any resistance higher than 100 ohms. Of course, you also have the option to go below 100 ohms with that cartridge. But as the ratio approaches one (internal resistance = phono load resistance), more and more of the signal voltage will be lost to ground. In addition high frequencies will gradually be rolled off. Some people like it that way, and there is nothing wrong with that. This constitutes one of the factors used in thinking about how to load the cartridge. The other factor relates to how the phono stage is designed and constructed. As you increase the load resistance toward 47K ohms, which is usually taken as wide open, the phono stage might in some cases become less stable and develop high frequency resonances. I am referring here to electronic resonance not mechanical. One result can be exaggerated ticks and pops.. 

Other phono stage designers insist that the best loading is wide open (47k). I would not consider any phono stage with one fixed loading value. Best to have choices from 50 to 47k and use ones ears.

I really like my Icon phono stage. It is fixed at 100 ohms MC. The designer has gone into the logic behind that in great detail.

100 Ohm is standard, basic recommendation for many MC, also default for the most phono stages. But you can use whatever YOU like, can be 300, 500, 1000, 10000, 47000 Ohm.

It’s nice to have a phono stage with optional loading, not every user have an optional loading, normally no choice, except 100 Ohm (or very few alternative options). So when someone using 100 Ohm and ok with that, it doesn’t mean he/she tried many different options.

Do not hesitate to try different loading if you can, it will not make any harm for your MC cartridges.

Yes. I run mine at 100 ohms and this seems perfect.

To some extent it is dependant on the phono stage, but it seems most people run the Cadenza Black at 100 ohms from what I have read over the years.

Do a search on the topic of cartridge loading. Several experts here have explained numerous times this is more related to the phono amp capabilities to deal with resonance than to any specific cartridge requirements. The cartridge manufacturer recommendation is a good place to start, but you'll notice that many aren't very specific about loading, usually it's something like '>100 ohms'. You have to figure it out for yourself, so use your ears.

BTW there are a few cartridge designers that give VERY specific loading values for their products, like Lyra and Jan Allaerts. But to be honest I don't understand what these values are based on.