Step Up Transformer

@mulveling very apt description of the Ortofon’s sonics through active gain devices. The dry and lean character simply vanishes with a good SUT. Tonearm matching can also make or break them. For example, I had great trouble getting the Anna from mistracking on the tonearms I tried (FR64S, Micro MAX-237, Audiocraft AC-4400 and Exclusive EA-10). So I almost gave up on it until I tried it with a FR64FX on a second turntable. Now it tracks everything with apparent ease and sounds terrific. A complete change of behaviour that I just can’t explain.

Funny you should mention Koetsu as your benchmark. I’ve been having much trouble coming to terms with an Onyx (pre platinum) and I was prepared to give up on it as well. Until I changed around some connections which hooked up my FR64S (silver wire inside) through an Ikeda copper wire tonearm cable to a silver wired Ortofon T-3000. And waddayouknow? The Onyx in a FR RS-141 headshell with Ortofon silver leadwires gave musical bliss! No comparison with any other combination I had tried thus far. I no longer expected this to happen, but I’m glad it did. The Koetsu is now a keeper.

Dear @edgewear  : It's no surprice the mistracking you experienced with the 64S and low compliance Anna where its resonance frequency is not aquated and out of the " ideal " frequency range when in the 64FX it's spot on at the middle. The 4400 is almost a unipivoted design with some trouble with its bearing damping oil ranges and with its lateral balance too and not good couple for the Anna and I don't know which pipe arm you used with the 237. Btw, I don't know if you still use the RX-1550.

" The dry and lean character simply vanishes with a good SUT. "

,Well knowing Boulder that's more or less how was recorded those or " that " LP, the Ortofon character and the SUT gave you not better quality level cartridge signal performance but only added the colorations you like it even if those colorations are only added distortions.

R.

@rauliruegas you really know everything don’t you? I know you don’t like FR64S, so no surprise there. But I was very surprised as well as disappointed that Anna even mistracked in the MAX-237 (with J-shape armpipe), because that arm could handle everything or so I thought. I also know you don’t like SUT’s, but why do you think an active gain device wouldn’t add colorations of its own? The Boulder electronics were selected for their neutrality and that’s generally how they present music through the Maggies. With cartridges like Miyabi Standard, Transfiguration Proteus, Shelter Harmony or VdHul Colibri this delivers a sound that to my ears is very accurate, but also enchanting and immersive. With the Ortofons this set up emphasizes their own neutrality (a good thing in itself of course) to the point of being sterile, which keeps you uninvolved. Somehow a good SUT restores that balance. At least that’s the way I perceive things, but of course YMMV.

Rauliruegas, you make some good points. I heard the cadenza black in another system with a sut, so thought to give one a try. How does a SUT degrade the performance; what type of distortion or colour does it introduce.

It is a general consensus, that an Additional Pair of RCA Phono Connector Inputs are used, followed by quite a few metres of Copper Coil and Lead Outs, followed by RCA Connectors as Outputs and then an additional pair of Cables is to be used.

The same above stands for a Head Amp in use as well, but swap out the Copper Coil, for a circuit built with usually seen component types. 

The suggestion is, and mostly presented as a subjective evaluation based on the idea,  increased components in the signal path, deteriorates/adulterates the signal path, and the shortest signal path is working toward the ideal.

I have not seen any measured data, that clearly defines sound produced from a signal passing through a SUT or Head Amp' is an inferior Sound produced at the Speaker End.

Do keep in mind signal that is produced prior to passing through the Speakers Xover, is an electrical current. It is only when the electrical current/signal has travelled as far as the Speaker, is the time it becomes sound and is able to be evaluated by each individual. In most cases individuals do nit share identical attraction for the same produced sound. We are all unique and have sensitivities to how we are affected by sound.