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Shindo Masseto w Koetsu .3mv output

Hoping to get opinions on whether the MC stage of a Shindo Masseto has enough gain to produce strong dynamics from a Koetsu Rosewood Sig Platinum cartridge  (.3mv output). Or would I need a SUT?

 

Bonus question: any opinions on whether I would get better overall sound using an Aurieges pre (newer version) w an Hommage SUT through its MM section, or by playing straight into the MC section of a Masseto? The cost of each of these setups could be close to one another on the used market. When I say better sound, my priorities are a very organic "you are there midrange", lots of instrumental textures, realistic soundstage cues, and overall emotional impact of the music.

 

Thanks very much for any thoughts. My table is a Sota Nova vacuum and tonearm is Jelco TK-850 10". Amps are Quicksilver v4 monoblocks.

montaldo
lewm
12,526 posts
 

2V output from a DAC is neither high nor low output, compared to most other DACs.  It's typical. You don't need any gain at all downstream from a DAC with 2V output; that's more than enough signal voltage to drive any amplifier to full output and beyond.  Are you guys referring to the linestage gain of a typical Shindo preamplifier? 

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,235 posts
 

@lewm 

2V output from a DAC is neither high nor low output, compared to most other DACs.  It's typical

Agree that is typical or standard voltage output for  DACs. Most amplifiers input sensitivity is less than 2 volts. However, many listeners realize improved sound quality with a high quality active preamplifier in the signal path. Even so, you still want to avoid excessively high gain preamplifiers. Thus my suggestion for a modest/lower gain unit. 16 db of gain is gratuitous for most DACs.

Quick example, my DAC has 3.5 output voltage, line stage has 10 db of gain and speakers are 94 db sensitivity. My volume control range is usually 10-2:00 o’clock for a wide variety of recordings.

Charles

three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 

@lewm  

If it's true that the internal SUTs on the Shindo phono sections are not as good as easily available outboard SUTs, then why spend money on the Shindo phono stages that have MC inputs, since in all cases the added gain is achieved via built-in SUTs.  If Shindo make an MM only phono stage, that would be the one to buy, just from a cost-effective point of view.

The market agrees with you.  The updated Monbrison only has MM input because most buyers prefer to bring their own SUT.  Also appealing is the new version's use of output transformers, intended to lower the preamp's output impedance from 5000 to 600 ohms.  

 

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