SUT decision: Ortofon Verto vs Ortofon STA6600L

MC4 is very expensive. I am looking for a cheaper alternative.

I am trying to understand if the old Ortofon original Jorgen Schou SUTs are worth considering over the newer Ortofon.

I am also considering the Auditorium 23 SUT (SPU version).

I have heard about Bob's product. I know they have good reputation. However, how good are they compared to an Auditorium23 or a Ortofon Verto? Has anyone made a direct comparison ?

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I enjoy reading sincere recommendations like the above.

Raul, I will definitely check the Denon SUTs. I like the RCM phonostage a lot. I especially love it with ZYX cartridge. But with Lyra I find that the music gets a bit mechanical when used without SUT. Without the SUT the music is very clean and noise floor is very low, frequency extension is also very clean and deep. However I dont get the same flow of the music which I get when SUT is in place. This happens most with the Lyra. I dont know whether it is a matter of compatibility or anything else.

Has anyone heard Bob's 1131 SUT against Ortofon SUT or the Auditorium 23 SUT ?

Has anyone heard the Intact Audio (Slagle) SUT ?

Hi Raul,
Lyra will recommend their own SUT which is the Erodion. This is out of my budget.

Raul wrote:
I can't know what you are listening in your system but ZYX " signature " is different from Lyra.

Now, there could be some reasons your Lyra performs in that way: not a very good match with the tonearm is mounted, needs a different load impedance value ( you have to check with different values. ), colored IC phono cable, some set up parameters as VTA/SRA/AZ/VTF where the cartridge is not " confortable ", SUT own distortions or is the way the Skala sounds.

Raul, I have been using this phonostage for the last 2 years or so and I have been very happy with it. I have tried many different cartridges, many interconnects, different tonearms and different settings all throughout my analogue rig. It has been a common observation that my phonostage sounds absolutely glorious with ZYX cartridge but not as good with Lyra. I dont know why. I have three Lyras till now and 3 ZYX. The result is consistent. With a SUT, things are different, the Lyra sings. Which tells me that the issue is mostly about loading. I could not get that same flow at any of the load settings on the phonostage. There must be something more to it but I am not a techie to be able to open the phonostage and check inside or modify. BTW, the Lyra sings really well with the 47 Labs phonocube and even Lehmann Audio Black Cube. So it likes direct input inside the phonostage, that is clear. Cannot blame any one component here.

Thanks Wrm57, thats an interesting observation. This goes to show more very important thing, with most phonostages a good SUT into the MM input sounds better than going direct into the MC input. There would be exceptions I agree, but most as I said could be behaving this way. So, I guess it would be interesting to look for a very good MM phonostage and look for a matching SUT for the cartridge.

Thanks Wrm57. I was thinking of the Leben RS-30EQ or an Allnic H1500.