SUT experience

Wow @rauliruegas , that was really popping the OPs balloon. @adrianleewelch 

Unfortunately, Raul is correct. Your best way forward would be with a dedicated phono stage. You might also want to look at the Channel D Lino C, it is a killer phono stage for the price. Transformers can do very well if they are installed inside the unit, no ICs. In Macs there usually is not enough room,

I might also add for the future that the performance of a cartridge is greatly enhance by the type of stylus used. You never see conical or elliptical styluses in high end cartridges. The best are the fine line contact designs like the Soundsmith OC-CL, the Gyger S and the Replicant 100. When looking for a cartridge at a reasonable price find the ones that have the same features as the best like boron cantilevers and fine line styluses. A good examples would be the Goldring 1042 and the Nagaoka MP 500. Just install the new cartridge in the SPU's head shell and your brain will think you have a classic:-)

Gilda as Roseann Roseannadanna.

Raul, I don’t know if the Project phono is better than the Mac phono built into the OP’s C47, but in any case he’s using the Project for phono gain and RIAA, not the Mac. And I don’t see the point in raining on his parade. Nor does his budget appear to allow for a Lino C phono stage. He came here for a little SUT education. I hope he got it. With all his gear, knowledge of the art is indispensable.

Well I suspected that the McIntosh phono stage left something to be desired. It was proven when the project bested it. This was an experiment in SUT and phono stages.  I got all of them cheap enough that I won’t lose any money when I sell. I hoped to learn what to purchase for my keeper setup. Between the knowledge gained in this thread, plus my own observations from listening I should be able to make an informed decision when I get something better.  As far as cantilevers and stylus go, soundsmith has built 2 of my carts with boron cantilevers and micro line diamonds. The purpose of the Spherical and conical styluses was not necessarily in pursuit of perfection. Maby more about period correctness and enjoying vintage sound.  I have a TD124, with 12” Ortofon arm and an SME, using 2A3 mono blocks, through Altec A5s. All of my gear in that chain is from the 60s except for the Mac preamp because I wanted a remote control. Maby it’s not hifi but I sure love it 😃.  I appreciate all comments and thank you for taking time to read it. Time is valuable and I appreciate yours.   Adrian

@adrianleewelch You have now worn your desire for a Rich Tone to be produced very clear. 

A SUT in use will reinforce this, experiencing different SUT's will aid one in finding the influence of a SUT that is most attractive to a personal preference. 

A SUT I would not normally recommend due it having a notable Rich Tone, is a Audio Innovations 800 or 1000 model. For your own purposes this model might be Rich in Tone Nirvana. 

I have the VDH Grail SB “current” phono preamp, so trying out a SUT would require an “voltage” phono preamp.  I have a few Ortofon SPUs and 2 Koetsu carts- was wondering if I should try SUTs - what’s the sonic benefit?