SUT help

Your MC stage of your Phono Stage IS A SUT.

ALL MC low signal in/MM strength out are SUTs.

Your Phono has a terrific set of optional Loading:

ModWright PH 9.0

MC Loading: 10-20-50-100-250-470

And, independent and adjustable gain is the holy grail IMO.

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IOW, you already have an EXCELLENT SUT

and, SUTs are not supposed to have a sound, exactly the opposite, just step it up without changing the sound of the cartridge or the sound of the MM Phono Stage.

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Additional Cartridges: the sound of any cartridge you have/get needs to get thru a SUT without alteration. I’d put money on the fact that your ModWright does just that.

Aside from researching/considering any cartridge's sound characteristics, which are ’preferred, not better’, I always encourage looking for technical specs: wide channel separation, and tight channel balance, the combo yields terrific imaging of the ’preferred’ cartridge sound.

pindac

nope, nope, nope ...... nope.

Passive, Straight Wire With Gain, ZERO noise: that’s what my Fidelity FRT-4 SUT is.

MM Passed Thru it to my mx110z or MM straight to my mx110z’s MM Phono sound the same. I love the sound of my mx110z’s MM Phono RIAA and would not want it’s sound altered by anything, just a different cartridge to evaluate, hear the cartridge’s differences: ’preferred, not better’.

Disliked my McIntosh C28's Phono, Liked my Fisher 500C and 800C. Liked my Tandberg TR80; Like my Yamaha Receiver's MM Phono. RIAA differences. 

My different MM Cartridges, their differences similarly heard passed thru SUT or direct to mx110z’s MM Phono as above.

MC, the story is the same when listening to mine or friends (who are familiar with my system’s sound), theirs’s sound ’essentially’ like they are used to, the sound they preferred, not any noticeable alteration. Wrong Impedance/xFactor setting, we hear it right away, primarily female vocals changing.

My office Luxman SQ-N150 has built-in MC and MM. Sounds darn nice! I have two MM I play on my TT here, I hear what I am used to hearing downstairs.

I had tried a few Phono Stages, internal riaa, into Line, didn’t like anything except a $14. Pyle.

Cambridge Duo, sent it back, two others highly recommended, sent them back.

It’s the RIAA that sound different, not the transformers in my experience.

Tell me I’m/we are deaf, we can hear differences between cartridges, but me: not ...... fuses.

Phono Stages, with their own SUT within, AND their own RIAA Phono Stage Within, now you’ve got to get your ears polished.

lewm

not quite, I can compare MM with or without the SUT, I can only hear LOMC via the SUT.

""My different MM Cartridges, their differences similarly heard passed thru SUT or direct to mx110z’s MM Phono as above.

MC, the story is the same when listening to mine or friends (who are familiar with my system’s sound), theirs’s sound ’essentially’ like they are used to, the sound they preferred, not any noticeable alteration."

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LOMC, I don’t know what my LOMC AT33PTG/II sounds like except the combo of FR SUT and McIntosh mx110z Phono RIAA EQ. Same for my AT33PTG/II LOMC Mono cartridge. My confidence that the SUT is not altering the Cartridge’s sound is from playing several of my friend’s LOMC cartridges here.

theirs’s sound ’essentially’ like they are used to the sound they preferred, not any noticeable alteration."

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Get thee a tonearm with removable headshell, get thee some friends, get thee a true Mono Cartridge, get thee two tonearms, alternate ready to go!

I noticed, the ModWright has a rear switch: Stereo or Mono, which I suppose is like a Stereo/Mono switch on a preamp with that feature. It’s a feature loaded Phono Stage, I’d like to hear it here!!!!!!!!

Just as the OP said, SUT discussions are like drunken sailors, but remember, they get where they are going, usually.

lewm

how is the .05mv increased to MM signal strength?

Active Gain, signal not stepped up?