Voltage mode vs current mode phono stages

SoundSmith

boothroyd, Apart from the fact that SoundSmith are the only company that currently market LOMI cartridges, what was your point?  Have you tried to drive a current mode phono stage with an SS LOMI?  Thanks.

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. 

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.

@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.