Phono Cart Impedance Question


I have a little bit of hiss through my 6 ohm, 0.28mV cart but only at a volume pushing the upper end of my listening volume...and it's only audible before I drop the needle, and even then not from the listening position.  I realize I therefore likely have a "non problem"!  

But I still have a generic question on to the sensitivity of producing hiss as it relates to cartridge impedance alone.  If one kept all other cart specs identical (including output of course) would you expect hiss to go up or down at the same volume and system gain if I used an 8 ohm or 12 ohm cart instead?  It seems like the hiss would likely go up just like moving to a higher impedance speaker under the same gain setup but perhaps I'm looking at this incorrectly? I realize moving to a slightly output cart could very well reduce the hiss.

Thoughts?   Sorry if this is a ridiculously obvious question and answer.

128x128three_easy_payments

Showing 8 responses by uberwaltz

I am pretty happy with my Chinook.
It was a toss up between this and the Herron.
Had got as far as talking to Keith on the phone about the Herron.

However a storming deal turned up on a Chinook so........
Thx for the update.
Sort of confirms what a few were thinking.
Good luck and enjoy your music!
Op.
If you are talking levels that are only vaguely audible with ear pressed hard against speaker then I would say I might have the very slightest hiss at about 80% volume.
This is so slight though but I could even be imagining it.
Seated, needle in groove, anything at sane volume level..... Deathly Hallows quiet.

This is with a Chinook tube phono.
Running through a Denon au320 sut prior to it.

I would relax and sit back and enjoy.
Maybe think about the sln tubes at $90 each......
I did not realise it was "that" Roger ... Lol.
Just had email reply as did not see 6922 sln tubes online but he has them at $90 each.
Times 4.
Ln are $70 a pop.
Wth, it's only money.
You have to pay to play
Thx for that link Mike
I am on the lookout for some more tubes for my Chinook but very wary of eBay sellers and some of their claims.
Will give Roger a trial.
Thanks three easy!
Now I see how i misread it.
I fixated on the 64db part ... Lol.
I did not know the Herron came in two flavours of 64 and 69db.
Do you have any other tubes to try?

Hold on a minute?
You said you are running through a SUT?
If so surely you should have the lowest gain engaged?
I too run a SUT for my MC carts through my Chinook but have gain set at 45db., 47k and 50pf.
I would opine 64db going through a SUT first is too much and quite possibly the cause of the hiss.
You are likely adding at least another 20db, possibly 24db at 30 ohm.

Sorry just reread where you state is same hiss even when you bypass the SUT.
But still running the SUT you would want the lowest gain available I would imagine in the Herron.
I have a zyx with just 0.24mv output.
I can hear no more background noise with that than a 0.4mv Scheu or a 2mv mm cart So I would not have thought it was the cart output vs gain in itself.

Sounds like something in the phono from your last test.