Well, played many favorite records at 47k for awhile. Didn't like it overall. A little to bright, if that's a good analogy. Switched loading to 200 ohms yesterday. Better. Not much difference from the original 500 ohms I've been running for the last decade. Will leave it at 200 and call it good!
Cartridge Loading.....Part II
I read last night the below noted discussion with great interest. It's a long post but worth the effort and I found it interesting.
It started me thinking about the amount of loading on my moving coil cartridges. Years ago I purchased my first MC Cart, a very nice Benz Micro Glider, medium output of 0.5 mV as I recall. At that time I inquired about loading here on Audiogon. I was convinced, via discussion, by another member, that 300 Ohms was the magic number, so I thought.
Time moved onward and my second MC Cart is currently a Lyra Delos, again medium output 0.6mV. Both carts had Boron cantilevers', 6 nines oxygen free copper coils and line contact diamond stylis. When I set up the Delos I did not change or even consider 'loading' changes. That was a grand mistake.....
Well, thanks to this specific thread I started to second guess myself . (you can do this when retired and more time is on your hands....)
My take from this recent thread is as follows. Load at 100 Ohms or at 47K Ohms with a quality MC cartridge. I opened up my Conrad Johnson EF1 Phono Stage this afternoon. Found it set at 500 Ohms loading. 100 Ohms is not an available setting. Damn...All these years I've been running the wrong loading, and on two carts, back to back... I don't recall why I set the loading at 500 Ohms. Faulty logic.
I reset the loading to 47K, buttoned things up and called the wife in for a listening session. Sure as heck both of us noticed the highs were crisper and more 'apparent' than in the recent past. Not a huge difference, but yes, a difference.. Hard lesson learned!
So, you smarter folks on this site might banter amongst yourselves, but in reality there are those of us, behind the curtains, reading and listening! I just wish I hadn't wasted all those years listening to the incorrect load setting!
Ending with a sincere thank you very much!!
Lou
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@quincy It is. If you experience brightness, IME this is because the phono section really isn't happy with RFI at its input. So loading is really the best thing you can do. |
The lower value 200 ohm vs. 47k ohms means more loading which tends to attenuate higher frequencies (because we hear things in terms of overall balance, attenuating highs can also be perceived as more bass). Another way to attenuate highs is to lower the VTA/SRA (lower the pivot point of the tonearm). This means that, to some extent you can play around with both loading changes and small VTA/SRA changes to find the best combination for achieving the tonal balance that you want. I know this adds to the complications, but, it also may enhance your sweet spot. |
@larryi to add what he said, it is one of the best things about vinyl. On one hand you want some setup to be dead on, cart alignment etc. But, when it comes to final sound there are lots of possibilities between loading, VTA, and VTF (to a degree). All can be tweaked to achieve just about any realm of balance desired. |
- 118 posts total