Welcome to the Allaerts world Musikdok. The Allaerts MC-1 Boron cartridge has an output of about 0.5 mV. It should have very little compatibility problems with a decent phono stage. The next step up--the MC MKII--has an even greater output of 0.7 mV. But it is the "Princess" of the line--the "MC 2 Finish Gold"--that has the low output of 0.2 mV. (I know that there are MC cartridges with even lower outputs than this, but somehow it is more difficult to get the MC-2 to run at its full potential with an inferior phono stage) The MC-1 that Musikdok obtained was a good choice, since the MC Eco (the cheapest Allaert) has a noticeable loss in high-frequency reproduction. The MC-1 also sinks a few dBs in the high frequencies, but not as much. All Allaerts cartridges are relatively flat, eschewing the 10KHz boost that some MC cartridge manufacturers (Clearaudio) tweek in to make their cartridge sound more detailed. I would be curious to hear about the specs of Musikdoks MC-1. They probably indicate channel separation between 50 and 60 dB (superb), THD of o.5% (the MC-2 is 0.1%) and a frequency range of 15Hz to 60KHz (amazing). Musikdok, the upgrade from the MC-1 to the MC-1 MkII will further increase your enthusiasm for the Allaerts, when the day comes.
Wellfed, I quantify a superior phonostage through timbre, dynamics, speed of transient resolution, overall quietness (to be tested by listening to the performance of the cartridge/stage combo while the cartridge is between cuts or in the run-off groove, or in extremely quiet portions of the record), capacity to reproduce space, low-level detail, and soundstaging. I do not care for maximum input ohm flexibility (achieved through complex sound-destroying switches, or mouse-pianos) as these tend to rob the fragile MC signal of some of its detail. I tend to like "minimal" phono stages like the Sakura, and the Greenwall over more complex stages like the Aesthetix or the Rowland more and more as I experiment with step-ups. Also, I have found that even sensitive cartridges like the Transfiguration Temper Supreme surprisingly do not change in performance much when switched between widely varying ohm loads. An "airy" (pastel-color) phono stage (like the FM Acoustics) is not to my taste, although I can understand the people who prefer this.
Wellfed, I quantify a superior phonostage through timbre, dynamics, speed of transient resolution, overall quietness (to be tested by listening to the performance of the cartridge/stage combo while the cartridge is between cuts or in the run-off groove, or in extremely quiet portions of the record), capacity to reproduce space, low-level detail, and soundstaging. I do not care for maximum input ohm flexibility (achieved through complex sound-destroying switches, or mouse-pianos) as these tend to rob the fragile MC signal of some of its detail. I tend to like "minimal" phono stages like the Sakura, and the Greenwall over more complex stages like the Aesthetix or the Rowland more and more as I experiment with step-ups. Also, I have found that even sensitive cartridges like the Transfiguration Temper Supreme surprisingly do not change in performance much when switched between widely varying ohm loads. An "airy" (pastel-color) phono stage (like the FM Acoustics) is not to my taste, although I can understand the people who prefer this.