What innovative, unconventional cartridge designs can you recommend?

@lewm 

RB, in your calculation of current, I think current out is equivalent to V out divided by internal impedance, rather than by load R. Load Z determines what becomes of the output.

It really is a question of how the manufacturer defines the cartridges' output voltage V.  Is it into a load, or into an open circuit?  It will be a higher number if measured into an open circuit.

In a real circuit, the current should be V divided by the total circuit impedance.  There is only one voltage source and it has to drive current through the entire circuit.

I am just discovering that the Japanese sometimes have their own ways of defining quantities!

@audphile1 

I’m assuming the unit voltage is correct and you just need a proper power cable. Not sure why soulnote says you can’t use any power cord that’s in working order

I have had a good look at the power cord SoulNote supplied, and without dissecting it, it does look like a standard, earthed, three connection power cord.  The distributor, you and common sense, all say any power cord will do.  The distributor also says all his customers use expensive audiophile-grade power cords!

So why does SoulNote explicitly state that only the supplied power cord should be used?  Possibly it has magic properties, internal shielding, anti-static impregnation, hidden ferrite rings.  I don’t know. 

Or possibly, they don’t want their customers to waste money on expensive aftermarket cords!  I prefer that explanation.

In another thread, we are discussing XLR cables.  SoulNote produces XLR cables which are unshielded, but specifies shielded in the user manual for my SoulNote E.1 Ver 2 Equalizer.  They are not shy of charging big money.  Their RCC-1 Clock Cable is about A$16,000 for 1.2-m.  Fortunately you only need one per clock

oops.  I've just re-read my SoulNote User Guide and I cannot find any text that specifies shielded cables for balanced operation.  My mistake ;-(

If you’re talking about the current output of a cartridge it’s generally to get a handle on how much current it can deliver to the phono, so you can disregard the phono input Z or assume it is zero. Then the current output is approximated by Vout divided by internal Z or R. This is how one decides whether the cartridge is suitable for a current driven phono, where input Z is ideally zero but never really is. In a voltage driven stage, the cartridge output immediately is seen as a voltage when it encounters the resistor at the phono input. An LOMC cartridge with a 2 ohm internal Z and an 0.2mv output makes more current that a LOMC with the same Vout and a 10 ohm internal Z. (Using Z and R interchangeably). In your original statement you did not mention internal Z at all. That’s all I’m saying.

@richardbrand cool. Am I incorrect in thinking this phono EQ supports your current MC or MM cartridge?