Will our MC for the festivities gain the stage?

David, as Marty pointed out to me in another thread, it will be the phono stage gain combined with the line stage gain that will be the key to this.

My MFA Magus preamp has 46db gain in the phono, and 20 in the line stage, making a total of 66db gain for the entire preamp system. This was not sufficient for the Shelter 501, and I had to resort to using my Cotter step up transformer. The Cotter gave a 20db boost, to bring the total gain to 86db, which is now more than sufficient, and I can only open up my volume knob to about 9 o'clock before I am at full volume. I think with the Shelter cartridges, you will need at least a good 75db total gain in the preamp system to handle this properly.

Yes David, if your line stage provides 20db gain in addition to the 55db in your phono section, you'll be in the ballgame.

Marty, I tried using the Shelter at 100 ohms, which is about the best load I found for it. It just didn't have enough "oomph" with my MFA preamp(66db total gain). The Shelter doesn't do as well when it is unloaded, in my opinion anyway.

I am hoping that David can get enough gain to get the right result with the 100 ohm loading that seems to work best with the Shelter. He is primarily talking about the Shelter cartridges in this question. I know, because we have talked off the forum about this.

Maxgain, I have heard the stories about this being the case, but I have not found it to be true in my situation. A good step-up transformer should not get in the way of the sound at all. In fact, in some ways, it makes a better coupling than going straight into the phono section.

I think that sometimes people don't know how to use them, and then they sound bad. For instance, the loading is different when you load at the transformer, than when you load at the phono stage. Generally the loading at the transformer is much lower than what would be recommended going straight into the preamp. Alot of folks don't know this. In other cases, like cheaper transformers, they don't have loading capability at all, so they won't even have hardly a chance of sounding right. Or sometimes people don't know that there might be a pre-set loading on the transformer, and then they load the phono section too, and screw everything up that way. I think that user error is more likely the reason that some people don't think transformers work well for cartridge step-up.

It's a lot different than an amplifier output transformer. The cartridge signals are so low, that there is no way you're going to saturate that transformer, or roll anything off, as long as it's a decent transformer. And transformers in the right application are a really good thing. Look at the new Audio Note $15k preamps. They have something like 8 transformers in them. Input trannies, output trannies, interstage trannies. Good transformers in the right application can be very good performers.

And if you want to compare with direct input to the phono section, let's face it, you have to get the gain somewhere. If you don't have a transformer, you have to have alot more gain stages in the phono section. That can also lead to signal losses or more noise. So even if the transformer is not perfect, neither are the extra gain stages in the phono section. Also, by having the transformer located close to the pickup, it boosts those low level signals earlier, so their less likely to have loss. Take your pick. I like the transformer for my money.

I'll guarantee that anybody listening to my system is not going to be saying anything about signal losses in my step-up transformer clouding up the signal. This system is crystal clear.