Step Up Transformer Question
Ok, so bear with me as this is new terrain for me. I was quite happy with how things were sounding and then I accidentally bumped the stylus of my Cadenza Black and snapped the cantilever clean off. I did some research and ultimately decided to have Steve at VAS at fix my cartridge but it was going to take a few weeks and there was going to be no way to play the Christmas vinyl that my wife loves so much. She told me to buy another cartridge so we could have Christmas records. I was stunned. I found a great deal on a Winfeld Ti on this site and pulled the trigger. I've got it on my table and it sounds amazing.
After speaking with Steve though, I'm going to trade in my Cadenza and have him build me a wood body cartridge to have something different. It will also be 0.2mv output. I think I've got the 2nd arm situation sorted (gonna buy a Wand and a pod to mount it on) which leaves the phono pre. I love my Rogers PA-2 and it is switchable between MC and MM with 2 different inputs in the back. Finally got the SUT part. I've been looking and trying to figure things out. I spoke with Roger and he said the transformer built into the PA-2 is 1:10 and with that I can achieve 70 or so dB of gain. I did a lot of reading and looking and while I'm sure a 4k+ SUT is amazing that's just not where I'm at with all the other expenses at the moment. I saw the Bellari MT502 was a stereophole recommended component for many years and Amazon had one on sale for like $349 or something. Figured can't hurt to try it, it's Amazon so I can always return it. I plugged it in with some admittedly questionable interconnects I had lying around and when I put the phono stage k there was a bit more hum than I'm used to but I said let's have a listen. Holy shit. This little thing blew my mind. Better impact, tighter bass, more space around instruments so better staging, improved transients. This puts me in an interesting place.
This is an extremely inexpensive piece and it has changed my system quite a bit. I think the little extra gain I get even at 1:12 brings the cartridge to life. My question is where do I go from here? Bob's makes the sky 30 which is switchable from 1:15 to 1:30 which I like because I can play with the gain tubes in my preamp and potentially go to a quieter 12au7 than the 12ax7 that's currently in there. Will that be a real improvement? Less hum? Had also considered ordering a Rothwell from jolly old England but can't find much on them. Thoughts? I'd like to keep this sub 1k or so for now. Maybe I'll save up for a big boy SUT later.
There seems to be a lot of markup in some SUT's. Why not buy bare transformers and put them in a box yourself? More control, more satisfaction, less money. Sowter makes good ones. Lundahl makes several grades from good to great. I've used both. The Lundahl 1931Ag is quite unforgiving. Why not email Lundahl and ask? They are very nice people, and helpful too. So with Sowter. Good luck! |
@mulveling Your dislike of Lundahls is interesting. I only have experience with the 1931 Ag, and it sounds pretty good when stepping up my Koetsu.. Not quite as clean or warm as my differential amplifier stage, but close. Now that I'm using a Grado as my primary stereo cartridge, it's a moot point. |
@mulveling Your tastes are pretty refined - obviously - so I would keep that in mind when deciding on a model. Mr. Grado might be able to help you with this decision. |
@mulveling I was wondering the same thing a year ago. I talked to Mr. Grado about linear tracking, he said that he hadn’t the faintest idea - but I could try a $100 cartridge and see. It didn’t sound all that good (compared to a KRSP !!) but it worked on the LT. Mr. Grado also said that he found the Koetsu to be a little analytical for his taste! So splurged on the Epoch. Good choice for me. A little smoother, more dynamic, and far better tracking (than KRSP d/c). But last week I tried a sapphire wand in my LT, and now the Epoch sounds a little analytical! So it’s back to natural fibre composites - panzerholz or pampas grass, not sure yet. Will have to optimize. Would you like to be PM-ed? |
