New Lyra Delos Cartridge

Your answer lies in the fact that your load directly into the MC phono input will be different from the load via a step-up transformer.

When you use an MC phono preamp, the recommended load is between 91-47k Ohms directly into MC input. When you use a step-up transformer, the recommended load is between 5-15 Ohms. So you got it right.

Btw, it's all explained in the Delos manual.

At least you know you can trust your ears :) The loading values with a step-up transformer are listed in the Specifications section at the very end of the manual.

I don't understand the technical aspects of loading directly into the MC input vs. a step-up tranny, but I know there are many here who do and they will hopefully provide an explanation. In the alternative, you could post this question in the Tech Talk forum, if you don't get an answer here.