.5 meter atlas element integra tonearm cables, low capacitance. Also, rothwell the river .5 meter interconnects...these sound a bit brighter than the atlas to my ears. They are silver plated copper. A well shielded cable is a must to reduce noise and hum. The same cable should be used from TT to SUT. You can use whatever interconnect you want from the phono preamp to your integrated/preamp. For that, I use an Atlas elements integra conventional interconnect. My goal is to keep the sound Signature consistent from TT to the integrated line input. My preference is the Atlas cables, they seem to be neutral. I use two different SUT’S, the Jensen mc-2rr-l (made in USA, 1:10 ratio, 430 ohm input impedance) and the Rothwell mcx (UK, 1:10 ratio, 100 ohm input impedance). My cartridge of choice is the Hana EL (.5 mv, >400 ohm) and Goldring Eroica LX (.5 mv, 100ohm) They are a good match to both SUT’s, impedance loading wise, as well as step up ratio requirements. Yes, my set up is low budget in relative terms, however, the cables and SUT’s are of high quality. If I were using a cartridge worth thousands, and a turntable like Mike Fremer’s, then maybe I’d spend more...what I got is fine to my ears.
SUT Interconnects
What cables have you tried between an MC SUT box and 47K MM phono stage? What was your favorite?
I’ve tried the AudioQuest upper-line "normal" ineterconnect cables (Sky, Fire) - great cables in other slots - but very colored coming out of a SUT. Not great performance. I assume that at 1.0m+ lengths, their capactitance is far too high for this application. I’ve tried 0.5m runs of Wind & Niagara (a bit lower in their "normal" IC line, slightly smaller guage wire and less shielding to boot) and got better results. However, my best results by far are with a 0.5m AQ WEL Signature LP phono cable (optimized for low capacitance phono applications). I’ve also tried the Bob’s Devices custom cables, 0.7m, both copper and solid silver versions - these have good performance (particularly the silver), but are more on the level of the 0.5m Niagara, still short of the WEL LP.
The problem I have is that the WEL LP is quite spendy, and I want a 2nd good SUT cable for a 2nd arm & SUT setup. Looking for more reasonably priced options. I’ve had excellent results with a Synergistic Research Foundation phono cable on a tonearm (DIN plug), and wonder how a short all-RCA run of it might do off a SUT (also interested in the Atmosphere X series). Any experience with SR or other cables off a SUT would be appreciated!