@lohanimal
Given that nandric appears to have not experienced an Entre ET100, then his opinion is speculation at best.
The Fidelity Research step up transformers I have experienced, including the top non switched ones with their matched FR cartridges, were awful - demolished by vintage Peerless’s and newer Jensens.
If you talk to cartridge designers you will find that they have theoretical preferences on optimum SUT depending on the actual cartridge design. For example I have seen JCarr theorise that specifically a toroidal based SUT would give the best outcome for a specific cartridge. This is based on the type of distortions inherent in toroidal vs other transformers and vice versa.
Transfomer matching to cartridge is much more than gain and impedance and in my view is Russian roulette. There never is one best solution.
Given that nandric appears to have not experienced an Entre ET100, then his opinion is speculation at best.
The Fidelity Research step up transformers I have experienced, including the top non switched ones with their matched FR cartridges, were awful - demolished by vintage Peerless’s and newer Jensens.
If you talk to cartridge designers you will find that they have theoretical preferences on optimum SUT depending on the actual cartridge design. For example I have seen JCarr theorise that specifically a toroidal based SUT would give the best outcome for a specific cartridge. This is based on the type of distortions inherent in toroidal vs other transformers and vice versa.
Transfomer matching to cartridge is much more than gain and impedance and in my view is Russian roulette. There never is one best solution.