@dover Are you referring to Van Den Hul The Grail MC stage in current mode? I think the base model sells in the eight thousand level. If so, you have answered the OP’s original query as to which mode is superior. Although I have a suspicion that a EMIA LCR phono stage with their silver SUT by Slagle / Jackson might be the persuasive counter argument that might have eluded you from the voltage side.
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This may due to the specific design of the Channel D Lino rather than the technology employed. I currently use a current sensing MC step up feeding the phono input on a Marantz 7 tube pre. It is vastly more transparent than using SUT's in a direct comparison. The SUT's cannot match the transparency, low end extension and speed of the current sensing step up. I own and have tried most of the highly regarded SUT's such as Audio Note, Tim Da Pavaracini 's Head ( which he says is the best he has ever made ), Cotter and many others. They can't compete. This combo has also seen off my old Jadis, Klyne System 7, Lamm and many other much vaunted phono/pres. The Goldmund PH2 phono is another example that is shockingly dynamic and quick. I think you highlighted the SUT issue accurately when you said
You can spend a fortune on decent SUT's, buy a new cartridge, and have to start the process again. Better off with the best high gain ( non SUT ) phono you can afford.
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@lewm I did not mean to confuse or sound noncommittal in my compare. Both are capable units, equally enjoyable. With the voltage combo on the first needle drop there was a definite sit up n’ listen - ‘wow’ moment. With the Lino C, it just sounded right from the get go. I think in Fremer’s review, he described the unit has having an orderly or no nonsense sound on the warm side. That is what I am hearing. SS sounding more warm than the tube unit, go figure. I do believe the real gem is the Audio Tekne SUT. It’s just that this Japanese brand flies way under the radar in the US. I am not using the RIAA in the digital domain with the Lino C. One more word on this unit, there are several upgrade paths available from Rob that makes very appealing to own long term. |
Ledoux, First, thanks for being one of the first among us to make a direct comparison and to report on your result. You wrote, "The tube/ voltage mode phono sounds more vivid, the SS current mode sounds more warm and relaxing." It's a matter of semantics but the words "vivid" and "warm and relazing" convey (to me, anyway) very similar feelings about how the two stages sound side by side. But perhaps you chose those adjectives to show how close they are. Especially since you describe the voltage amplifier as also being more "dynamic"; to me that also goes with vivid. I guess the main point is that you prefer the voltage mode phono stage, adjectives notwithstanding. On the Channel D Lino, did you choose a version that does RIAA in the digital domain, or is it all analog? Both of your cartridges ought to be very good at producing current, based on dividing their output voltages by their respective internal resistances (V/R = I). I totally agree on your opinion that one technology is not necessarily superior to the other, given one uses either with an appropriate LOMC. Current drive is just a la mode at this moment. We also have LCR and LR types of RIAA correction that have drawn attention in the last 5-10 years. |
I have two cartridges, Audio Tekne, 0.1mv, 2 ohms and ZYX Ultimate Omega, .23 mV, 4 ohms. Both are considered LOMC. I started with a current mode phono, Channel D Lino C 2.2. And then added a Sunvalley EQ-1616d tube phono paired with a Audio Tekne MC-4818 permalloy core SUT. I prefer the voltage mode combination in my system. It has a more dynamic, more transparent presentation, cymbals sound crystalline clear, spookily real. The soundstage width and depth are about the same with the Lino C. The tube/ voltage mode phono sounds more vivid, the SS current mode sounds more warm and relaxing. This is the most surprising and counterintuitive result having lived with both for a good 6 months. I don’t think that one technology is better than the other. If paired with the right cartridge, current mode phonos are plug n’ play, whereas voltage mode is an endless pursuit of SUT’s and loading. I have admittedly rather entry level stuff, so not the final word. |
Maybe some CH Precision owners could join in? Their reference phono stage allows for both voltage or current gain situations by featuring an array inputs which are easily user optimized. From the info I’ve gathered, the 10 ohm or lower LOMC Current Injection (transimpedance) theme as mentioned by @lewm seems to be their preferred method of playback. LOMI pickups are now joining the current party! (pun intended) |
See above. For current drive the phono stage input impedance needs to be as near zero as possible so as to “see” the cartridge as a current source. It also has be amplified by current and to put out amplified voltage in response to current. That’s why I called it an I/V converter. Ultimately the stage has to put out amplified voltage just like a conventional stage. It’s basically as simple as Ohm’s Law. Conversely a conventional voltage driven stage has to have an input impedance that is a multiple of the cartridge internal resistance, in order to amplify its output voltage. |
Just to embellish what Dover wrote, the upshot of his analysis is that for LOMC cartridges with very low internal resistance (10 ohms or less?), all other things being equal, a current drive phono stage makes a lot of sense (because the capacity to produce signal as current is inversely proportional to the internal resistance). But you will not want to use such a phono stage with MM or MI cartridges and even not so much with some LOMCs that have a relatively high internal resistance, e.g., >20 ohms, although that is far from a hard cut-off. From what I can tell, most current drive phono stages consist of an input stage that converts current to voltage. Downstream from the I/V converter is pretty much like any other high gain phono stage. |
It is very straightforward- Moving Magnet cartridges produce high voltage, but low current. Moving coil cartridges produce high current ( higher than MM's ) but very low voltage. Moving coil step up transformers convert the high current/low voltage of a moving coil to high voltage low current. Alternately a better option for moving coil cartridges is to use a current gain input stage instead of a voltage gain input stage. This suits the MC better and in theory should have less loss because you are not converting current to voltage as a precursor to the amplification of the very small signal. |
