Phono (0.1- 0.22mV+) or step up for LOMC?

Make sure to the JLTi phono stage from Australia. This is the reincarnation of the legendary phono stage designed by Allen Wright back in the days. You're a victim of reviews, but do not trust reviews that much. Forget about optional RIAA curves, nobody use them, just standard RIAA. For about $750 the JLTi is amazing, the older version was much more expensive because of the luxury box, the newer version is cheaper because the cbinet is cheap looking, but for us it is more important to look what's inside. 

Should not be a problem to run 0.20mV cartridges, but for 0.05mV (like my Ortofon MC2000) i would not use any cheap phono stages! 

Anyway you can add any SUT later on with JLTi if you need more gain. What you need for a SUT is a decent MM phono stage. The JLTi is superb for MM with all that optional RCA plug load resistors (on the backside). 

@rsf507 

I have found the PH10 to be very versatile as uberwaltz stated you may not need all the settings now but down the road it may come in handy and for $1300 I think it's a bargain.

There are many great phono stages for half price of the PH-10, if someone own the PH-10 it woule be nice to see 2-3 more great phono stages in the same price range "beaten" by PH-10. But even in the first review it is clearly stated that we don't have to expect bass slam from the PH-10 (for example). I think it's not good, but depends on the system.  

Ignorance is to speak about something that you never used, but as have been poited by others Raul could hear the system and products from his appartment in Mexico without even buyin them.

What i said is that PH-10 must be compared to some other great phono stages in this price range, there are many of them on the market, one of them is JLTi.  Each review normally pushing some of them over the top, but where is the comparison chart? 

@uberwaltz do you have that bass slam that one of the PH-10 reviewer has been missing. Any other decent phono stages from your arsenal has been beaten by PH-10, which one ?  

Why you’re so concerned about balanced connectors ?
If your cable is not longer than 3 meters you don’t have to worry about it, most of the cables are easier to find/buy unbalanced with RCA and most people use it like that (1 meter or 1.5 meters).

JLTi prices included shipping worldwide and Joe Rassmussen (JLTi designer, he’s originally from Denmark) can declare whatever value you need for your custom control, he’s a nice guy. I also asked to customize my JLTi by putting 500k Ohm internal resistor, so i can load it down to whatever value by adding RCA plug resistors on the backside. I asked him to replace 47k Ohm resistor to 500k Ohm, just because i use my MM cartridges with 100k Ohm and we can only go down with parallel resistors, so the internat resistor must be higher than 47k (i asked for 500k Ohm). In this configuration this phono stage is perfect for MM (not only for MC) and no other phono stage will give you this ability with whaever load value you need anytime. 

@korakotta

it’s up to you, but very well shielded unbalanced phono cables (if they are under 1.5 meters) does not produce any noice. But if the cartridge has extremely low output and the phono is not top-notch you can hear some hum. For example check stereophile review for Ortofon MC2000 (0.05mV) paired with dedicated Ortofon T-2000 SUT. Reviewer stated that the MC-2000 is the best-sounding moving-coil cartridge he has ever heard (even with alittle bit of hum)!

I think if you go balanced you need all balanced cables in your system: tonearm to phono to amp to spekaers. It’s just too compliacated.

Even Ortofon Century MC designer Leif Johannsen himself has been using SUT with his flagship cartridge, just watch this video on 18:22 when he’s talking about it. If the Orotfon mastermind is not against SUT at all after 100 years of experience, why should we ignore SUTs ?

Raul about Ortofon:

Ortofon is a total/100% of knowledge and skills at every single " sigth " surrounded its designs for it can works always in favor of MUSIC.

Yeah, active headamp or pre-preamp is nother option, for example ZYX headamps are unique, read Arthur Savlatore’s review of ZyX CPP-1 online. Now upgraded version available. ZYX cartridges are about 0.22-24 mV and inpedance is about 2-4ohm.

According to Raul we’re all stupid, ignorant and rookie.

Nowadays many manufacturers still makes SUTs, Headamps, but probably only for stupid people.

I assume a decent active gain phono stage that can handle extremely low output cartridges (such as 0.05mV Ortofom MC2000) is very expensive, i mean many thousand dollars. Reviewers does not use such cartridges. Someone praised iphono 2 here on audiogon, but it can’t handle Ortofon MC2000, i tried, reviewers are happy, i’m not happy.

So i’m not sure about PH-10 for extremely low output MC cartridges. Is it really works great with 0.05mV? Anyone?

Don’t believe the hype!


Nothing wring with the SUTs, Raul forgot to mention phono stages with build-in SUTs, i have one of those with Swedish Lundahl transformers, this phono stage is WLM Phonata reference MM/MC with automatic load impedance. The SUTs are inside, no additional wires needed, no extra connections etc. I love this stage with my Fidelity-Research RF-7f designed by Ikeda-San (0.15-0.22mV, 2-3 Ohm).

I would recommend Luxman Silver SUT if you want to try inexpensive, but very good SUT.
http://www.thevintageknob.org/luxman-AD8000.html
  

I think @nandric  has at least two big boxes of ARS components in his system.