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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

Showing 1 response by atmasphere

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atmasphere
11,566 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.
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