Current sensing phono stages w/Rega?

@hleeid ,  I have a Seta L Plus that can run either current or voltage mode. For current mode to work really well the impedance of the cartridge needs to be less than 2 ohms. At about 5 ohms gain will be equal in either mode. Above that you will have more gain and a better signal to noise ratio in voltage mode. This does not necessarily mean that it sounds better in voltage mode. The higher the output of the cartridge it becomes more likely it will sound better in voltage mode. My MC Diamond has more gain in voltage mode but sounds better in current mode even though the signal to noise ratio is not as good. It is a 6 ohm cartridge with an output of 0.2 mv. The Ania at 10 ohms and 0.35 mv is most likely going to do better in voltage mode. 

The Lino C is a great phono stage. If you get one I suggest you add a voltage mode input.  

All these responses are greatly appreciated!!!

But now I'm not clear on my cartridge impedance working well with current sensing phono stages.

@drbond Not sure if I want to upgrade from the Ania Pro I just purchased. But thanks for pointing out the potential impedance issue.

@boothroyd I didn't know about the MK II. Will look into it.

@mijostyn Would it be better to just go with a voltage sensing unit vs. adding a voltage mode input to a current sensing unit?

@hleeid

If you compared those three phono stages on your system and liked the Konus better, then that sounds like a reasonable upgrade. As others pointed out, the higher impedance will still work in a current base phono stage, but from what I read, it’s not ideal.
During upgrades, I would look to at least double the price of the component being replaced.

@hleeid , Not at all. When Channel D adds the option of  voltage mode operation it adds an entire new voltage mode board and you have a choice of quality. It is like having two separate phono stages that use the same RIAA correction board. Unless you are sure you are going to be using a very low impedance cartridge for the duration you should add the voltage mode board if you can afford it. You can take a Lino C all the way up to 10 K if you are not careful. Having said all this I have to admit at this time the very best phonograph reproduction I have heard is in current mode. 

I am curious to know what cartridges have an internal impedance of 2 ohms or less.  My own MC2000 fits the criterion, and I know there are others such as the Haniwa that present an even lower internal R, but I would think the list is very short after that.  Also, maybe we should make a distinction between "works" and "works best" into a current mode phono stage. Hdm is quite right to point out that "works best" also depends upon the actual input Z of the phono stage.  With the 12-ohm AT ART7, which puts out only 0.12mV, you have a cartridge that is on the fence for either current- or voltage- mode.  I find that it works great with my BMC (2-4 ohms input Z), usually in the +7db gain mode.  It's a little more robust sounding into that device than it is into my high gain SS voltage-mode phono stage, but either works fine.  Don't you think it's a little severe to say that 2 ohms is the upper limit for internal R???  If that were the case, the market for current-mode phono stages would be very tiny. (Perhaps it is only a little better than "tiny" in reality.)  On the other hand, why would you want to use current mode with a 40-ohm cartridge that has 0.4mV output?  One reason would be if you don't own a high gain voltage-mode phono stage and mating such a cartridge with a SUT would be problematic (although could work with a 1:10 SUT, but preferably no higher ratio). Anyway, lots of folks seem to be using current mode with cartridges, even up to 20 ohms internal R.