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Capacitance settings on Manley phonostage

Was hoping I could get some advice on the capacitance settings on the Manley Chinook phonostage. I have a VPI Classic 2 with a MC Dynavector XX2 mkII cartridge...everything sounds good but I am a vinyl novice and don't know a whole lot about the capacitance setting on the back of the Chinook. I've read elsewhere that the capacitance settings don't affect MC cartridges like they do MM. I called Manley to get their input and while they were very nice, all I got was to set it at whatever sounds good to my ears. Now I do understand that's the most important thing, but what threw me was that their manual states that there is a "formula" to figuring out where to start, but when I called I was in so many words told to ignore that and just set it by ear. He also didn't make any mention that I shouldn't use different settings since I have a MC cartridge which I would think he would've mentioned if that was true....so now I'm pretty confused. I also have yet to find the capacitance of a Dynavector cartridge, so I was hoping that someone with more experience with the capacitance issue could shed some light on this and whether or not it does matter if you have a MC cartridge. Thoughts?
audioguy3107
6 responses Add your response
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
For an excellent explanation of the technical factors that are involved, see the comments by Lyra cartridge designer Jonathan Carr here, starting with the second major paragraph in that post.

The bottom line: What stands the greatest chance of being optimal is probably the "0 pf" setting. Which isn't really zero, btw, but is the lowest possible value.

Regards,
-- Al
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,933 posts
 
Moving coil cartridges do not even see a capacitance load, so I would set your Chinook to 0 (zero).

When I had the XX2MKII, I found the 100ohm load setting to sound the best with a tracking force of 2.0-2.2 grams.
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
"0" for MC catridges. For MM carts, the seeting needs to take into account the phono cable capacitance as part of the total on the phono stage. For example the capacitance for a Technics 1200 mk2 table is about 100 pf so if the cart needs 275 pf then the setting on the phono pre would be 275 pf - 100 pf = 175 pf

Usually, but not always, you can figure around 90 pf to 100 pf per meter of phono cable.

Steve
terry9
2,211 posts
 
I hear a slight but distinct capacitance effect with my Koetsu and an SUT. I have a 250-450pF variable cap across the SUT outputs. All my records sound good somewhere within that range.

As I said, the effect is slight, much less than resistive loading; indeed, you may not even hear it until you assume the listening position.

Unless you are dissatisfied with the sound at 0, I would leave it there, because all caps (except air gap) introduce distortion. If you are dissatisfied, buy pairs of styrene caps (MIT is very good) of 100, 200, 400, 800 pF. Don't forget to evaluate from the listening position only.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,574 posts
 
With SUTs the traditional knowledge about loading does not apply.

This is because the SUT has a turns ratio and must be loaded correctly to prevent ringing of the transformer. The correct load will vary depending on the impedance of the cartridge.

However in all cases a cap is not needed (although you can use a cap and a resistor for loading, its just trickier is all) as the loading is usually done with a resistance.
gbmcleod
427 posts
 
To make things interesting, my dealer installed a Clearaudio Accurate on my VPI turntable recently. We listened to it at 47K and then at 300 ohms. I didn't even realize he'd changed it (on the fly, right in the middle of the cut) and when he turned around and I asked when he was going to do it, he said he had. There was NO discernible difference to either of us.
The equipment? Audio Research top phono stage and line stage - and the REF 75 amp, and Wilson Sashas.
It doesn't always work the way it's 'supposed' to. My former mentor, HP, always loads at 47k and only changed it if necessary (which meant: never). So there you have it.
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