Artemis Labs Ph-1 owners.....

I have heard the artemis in two different systems with a number of different SUT's. The one thing i would warn against is going for more than say a 1:10 step up ratio unless you have a really low output MC (AN IO-J). We listened to some 1:20's and some 1:26's on both a Miyabe and an Olympos and moving to a 1:13 was a revelation and made a noted improvement in the sound independent of transformer brand. The conclusion I came away with was that the higher step up ratios were dynamically overloading the inputs of the artemis and lowering that gain caused more sonic improvement than the specific brand of transformer.

dave

Hi Dave,

I really appreciate your response. This is the kind of information that I'm looking for. I really am trying to find out how many mV's (whether from combination of step-up transformer with cartridge or a cartridge straight in) I can put into the Artemis Labs Ph-1 without overdriving any of its gain stages. From what I understand it will be the 12ax7 stage that is most likely to overload the quickest.

If I am calculating this correctly, the Miyabi @ .3mV/5cm/sec with 1:13 ratio would roughly be 3.9mV or converted to .21mV/3.54cm/sec would roughly be 2.73mV.

The Orpheus @ .48mV/3.54cm/sec with 1:13 ratio would roughly be 6.24mV or counverted to .68mV/5cm/sec would roughly be 8.79mV.

Does this sound correct?

Thanks,
Don

Happy New Year,

Dave got it right as far as gain structure, of course, most everything I learned about gain, I learned from him.

The PH-1 is somewhat odd, living between an MC and MM level - at 52dB. MM phono stages typically come in at 36-40dB and MC stages are typically in the 60 dB range.

1:10 is the most you'd need, but surely 1:13 will work in some system contexts. No doubt, Dave was listening through in iteration of his very fine, passive TVC and so all of the gain came from the SUT and phono stage.

The Artemis is not the quietest phono stage on the block, and while it was never a disqualifying event for me, it might bother some folks more than others. It this describes you, then I'd opt for the higher side on the step-up ratio (e.g. 1:10, 1:13) - assuming a low output MC.

You'd do well to hop onto Dave's forum, and if his very fine SUTs interest you, there are likely some folks who would assemble a pair into a workable box (Dave sells raw parts). At one time, Jeffery Jackson of Experience Music was assembling trannies for folks who purchased SUTs from Dave. I maintain a link to Intact Audio on my links page, but here's the direct link: http://www.intactaudio.com/.

No commercial interest in this recommendation - just recommending an outstanding product for your consideration.

So ... what cartridge? It's really about what you like and what mates well with your tonearm. In general, I've always liked the Dynavectors, Denon DL-103r (and of course the Soundsmith rebuild), Benz (medium or low output).

Don't limit yourself by these recommendations. It's more about what your favorite cartridge is.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Quick follow-up ...

The .2mv to .6mv range would be a good working number when using a 1:10 SUT, but your entire system gain structure needs to be taken into account.

If you work your way into the say, 1.0mv range, (high o-p MC) you'll be on the threshold not needing a SUT (depending on everything else in your gain structure, along with your sensitivity to system noise - I can't be inside your ears to advise you on this one).

There are some recently archived threads on the topic of system gain on this forum, and in one of those threads, I posted a link to a thread on my forum - about evaluating your system's gain structure numerically (only a starting point, but it gives you a baseline).

Cheers,
Thom