SUT into MM input section of Solid State Phono Stage

In my opinion 0.2 or 0.3 mV can be handled by almost any MC phono stage with ease, don't know why people looking for higher output MC.

Running my 0.24 mV FR-7fz with Gold Note PH-10 phono stage without SUT I can use the lowest gain setting (-3db) even with passive preamp and 1.5 W single ended power amp. I really don't understand why people always looking for higher gain and higher output. Those folks should look for high efficient speakers instead.     

What is your MC cartridge then? Start from the cartridge, not from the SUT. If you already have SUT then you are limited to certain type of LOMC according to cartridge impedance matched to your SUT. You can't use one SUT for all LOMC cartridges. 

If we will look on any classic SUTs we will see impedance range stated in the manual or market near the cartridge input on the SUT. In reality a low impedance MC are very low output. When a SUT says primary 3 Ohms connection it means this SUT designed for LOW IMPEDANCE cartridge only (LOMC with 2 Ohm internal impedance for example). This type of SUT obviously can NOT be used with a LOMC cartridge with 40-70 Ohm impedance.

For a high impedance LOMC cartridges there are specially designed SUT, for example a SUT that can handle 40 Ohm or higher impedance.

There is also something in the middle, for example this Luxman SUT can handle MC cartridges with impedance from 3 to 40 Ohm.

Everything marked right on the SUT, all classic Japanese SUTs from Denon, Audio-Technica are all have that marks (to match a sut and cartridge impedance), this is very user friendly! If modern SUT manufacturers can’t give a buyer this information it’s very strange and NOT user friendly!

Not sure why do you think most people use tube phono stages? I think you are wrong. I’ve been using SUT only with Solid State phono stages. I must say that current-injection phono stages are much more impressive than SUTs and MM phono.

What must be matched between a SUT and the cartridge is the SUT gain to the cartridge output level, this is the main issue and not impedance loading.Any SUT with the rigth gain can works with any cartridge with the adequated output level it does not matters its impedances.

This is at best misleading. I agree 100% that the sole purpose of the turns ratio is level matching.  It is best to match a SUT for both step up ratio and cartridge impedance. Taking the two extremes of a 2Ω and a 40Ω, a 2Ω cartridge feeding a SUT designed for 40Ω will have bass response down to the single digits and show a pronounced resonant peak at some point (hopefully) above the audio range. Going the other direction and using a SUT intended for a 2Ω source with a 40Ω cartridge will result in inadequate low and (possibly) high frequency response.

dave

Thanks Dave.
There are some MC cartridges on the edge aka extremely low output MC or higher output MC, but the majority of the LOMC cartridges are 0.2 - 0.3 mV or very close to it (in my opinion). For different LOMC cartridges with the same output of 0.2 mV the difference in cartridge impedance can be huge from 2 Ohm to 30 Ohm, if the output is slightly different the impedance difference can be even bigger. I think all users have to pay attention to impedance matching of the SUT and Cart and for Japanese manufacturers of the SUTs it was very important (always). For American or European manufacturers I often see only step-up ratio.