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Turntable/Cartridge/Phono Stage questions

My current system consists of new Mark Levinson seperates, along with Revel Studio speakers. My preamp..... a ML380S, does not have a phono stage.

Having said this, I have been absent from vinyl/analog for quite a long time, but I am interested in revisiting the format. I have an old B&O 4002 turntable which has been collecting dust for ages, but I would like to get it up and running. In order to do this, it would need a minor tuneup, as well as a new cartridge......which I have located. I must emphasize, it is NOT my intention to go crazy with analog, I merely would like to re-visit my old vinyl recordings........especially the OOP ones.

Herein lie my questions: I have been reading about MM vs MC cartridges on this forum. I am unaware of which type cartridge the B & O uses. (The appropriate Cartridge Model is MMC 20CL, EN, or SR.) Would someone in the know please identify whether these cartridges are MM or MC? Accordingly, what might be an appropriate Phono Stage for this application? Again, I do not want to go too crazy with this, as the analog thing will be a very minor portion of my listening experience.

It is my hope to obtain a relatively inexpensive phono section which will give me reasonable performance (if that exists). I also want to assure that I acquire a phono stage with the proper signal output considering the given cartridge.

Any suggestions, information and/or share experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the words of wisdom.

GW
v1rowt8
tok20000's avatar
tok20000
608 posts
 
What is your budget for a phono stage? How much is reasonably inexpensive? You have ML equipment and that stuff is not cheap.

KF
russelmania
1 posts
 
It doesn't make sense to spend so much money on M.L. equipment to use a B & O table.
v1rowt8 OP
33 posts
 
Just to clarify.......I am aware of the source limitations of the B&O turntable and its respective cartridge as compared to the capabilities of the ML equipment. This is why I say I am not taking this seriously. I simply have the turntable laying around from years ago, and it would be fun to hook it up.

Having said that, I would intend on purchasing a phono stage which is commensorate with the turntable's capabilities, NOT the Levinson gear's capabilities. The whole idea is just to break out those old 33's, and revisit them at a reasonable level.

A related question comes to mind though, which may not even apply is this situation: Is a phono stage neccesary at all with MM cartridge applications? From my reading, it appears a MM cartridge's output is much higher.

Thanks for the education.

GW
jimbo3
304 posts
 
GW- Yes, a phono pre is needed for MM carts, too. Rotel has a nice basic phono pre for $200 new and around $100 to $125 used. Since this is just to get started, anything in that price range would be about the same. Some have written in about two Rat Shack phono pre's (one for each channel) that they have modded for under $100. DO a search on this site for info on the Rat shack unit. With any of these, you'll need to check to be sure that they have the appropriate gain for your type of cart.

I m not familiar enough with B&O to know which (MM/MC) you have, but you can test on another system. Plug into a friend's old receiver (one with a phono section). If the volume while playing a record is about the same volume as other sources (FM, CD, and/or Tape), you probably have MM and almost all receivers used to have MM phono sections.

After you get started, you might even want to step up!!

Regards
Jim
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