2. analog
  3. 155138-9304

Phono stage for 0.2mv cartridge?

  I am looking for a quality phono stage with at least 72db of gain.  During this last year I obtained a Canary MC10 which sounds beautiful but I am somewhat volume limited and listen at such high volume control settings that tube rush has become an issue.  At 69.5db of gain I hoped that the Canary would work out but...
  Most of the popular stages like the Herron and the Manlely Steelhead seem to run in the 66-70db gain range.  Reviewers seem to routinely report on these phono stages using cartridges with low outputs but that runs contrary to my experience so far.  Any suggestions appreciated.

Bill
wbs
billwojo
397 posts
 
Why not use a SUT to bump up the output and than run that into a good MM phono stage. SUT will not introduce noise if properly built and grounded.I use a SUT for my Denon DL-103 and run that into a Audio Research SP-8 preamp. Very musical and no hiss or hum. It's a very popular approach. Not easy to build a quiet high gain phono preamp.

BillWojo
tkr
100 posts
 
You should maybe consider the EAT e-glo. Tubed, and a massive 76 dB of gain.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I do have another concern here.
69.5db of gain should have been more than enough to drive 0.2mv cart unless serious phono to preamp mismatch?
I drove a ZYX at 0.24mv at just 66db gain on my Gold Note PH10.
72db of gain would be more in line for carts with 0.10 to 0.05mv output.
If everything is matched downstream.

So question for the OP.
What preamp and what cartridge and what adjoining cabling?
simao's avatar
simao
1,713 posts
 
Agreed with @uberwaltz. Close to 70db of gain is huge for .2mV.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,566 posts
 
  I am looking for a quality phono stage with at least 72db of gain. During this last year I obtained a Canary MC10 which sounds beautiful but I am somewhat volume limited and listen at such high volume control settings that tube rush has become an issue. At 69.5db of gain I hoped that the Canary would work out but...
@wbs

The difference here is not even 3dB! That quite simply isn't an issue when we are talking about working with a cartridge of 0.2mV. The phono section in our MP-1 preamp has only 66dB and it works fine with 0.2mV.

Something other than gain was afoot in the case above! What was the problem that caused you to seek more gain?
More to discover