There was an interesting article in the latest Stereophile magazine about MC cartridge loading. Is the correct loading a myth like Jim Austin suggested in the article, or is there an optimal loading for cartridge? I'm a newbie on vinyl and would be interesting to know how you end up with the loding you are using with your cartridges. Is it the numbers cart vendors publish or something that you have discovered yourself?
What's the correct MC cartridge loading?
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My copy came yesterday and I’ve now looked at the article.
It could be an artifact of the printing, but the two curves he shows look to my eyes as though the 47kOhm curve would hide the 30 Ohm curve were they superimposed on one another. I think the differences would be audible. Why did he not tell us what he heard when he switched from 47k to 30? I am sure one could have written about that. How about 100 or 500 Ohms? What did they measure? How did they sound?
The conclusion to choose the heaviest load is obviously wrong … were it true, there would be more phono preamps with sub 100 Ohm settings on the market. Anyone who has listened to different loadings with different cartridges and preamps knows that there are differences presented to the discerning ear. If the MC preamp isn’t adjustable, the default loading is often 100 Ohms. Is this optimal based on market forces rather than cartridge performance? Why not 30, or 50?
Linn are very specific about both resistive and capacitive phono cartridge loading for their badged cartridges. The Uphorik provides several setting choices of what might appear to be oddly close low numbers. When I used a Linn Krystal and the Uphorik, I could hear the difference between the 40ish and 50ish choices. But when I switched to tube phono preamps (specifically to CJ’s TEA2MAX), the difference that loading made seemed far more subtle.
I had a conversation with CJ’s head tech (now CJ’s owner). He confirmed that differences were subtle, but that CJ would install a custom load for me if desired. Later I upgraded to the TEA1. Which also allowed capacitive adjustments and custom resistive loads. Still subtle. I generally preferred minimal capacitance, and with most cartridges, I preferred 200 or 400 Ohm loads.
I moved on to ARC … loved the simplicity of making load adjustments on the fly from the remote control. Still subtle, with my preference tending to be in the sub 500 Ohm range.
My Burmester 088 is equipped with the MC Phono module. It offers several resistive and gain choices. It is solid state, and just like my Krell and Linn phono preamps, differences are clearer … but I can’t listen to any of them … they seem shrill, brittle, hard compared to either CJ or ARC. It is easy to tell the differences between loadings, but even easier to tell that my ears prefer the tubes for vinyl.
I think that MC loading is a black art. I love Lyra cartridges, and they present very detailed data and specific recommendations. Their recommendations certainly “work,” but my experience is that my ears are an even better guide for my own personal listening enjoyment.
It could be an artifact of the printing, but the two curves he shows look to my eyes as though the 47kOhm curve would hide the 30 Ohm curve were they superimposed on one another. I think the differences would be audible. Why did he not tell us what he heard when he switched from 47k to 30? I am sure one could have written about that. How about 100 or 500 Ohms? What did they measure? How did they sound?
The conclusion to choose the heaviest load is obviously wrong … were it true, there would be more phono preamps with sub 100 Ohm settings on the market. Anyone who has listened to different loadings with different cartridges and preamps knows that there are differences presented to the discerning ear. If the MC preamp isn’t adjustable, the default loading is often 100 Ohms. Is this optimal based on market forces rather than cartridge performance? Why not 30, or 50?
Linn are very specific about both resistive and capacitive phono cartridge loading for their badged cartridges. The Uphorik provides several setting choices of what might appear to be oddly close low numbers. When I used a Linn Krystal and the Uphorik, I could hear the difference between the 40ish and 50ish choices. But when I switched to tube phono preamps (specifically to CJ’s TEA2MAX), the difference that loading made seemed far more subtle.
I had a conversation with CJ’s head tech (now CJ’s owner). He confirmed that differences were subtle, but that CJ would install a custom load for me if desired. Later I upgraded to the TEA1. Which also allowed capacitive adjustments and custom resistive loads. Still subtle. I generally preferred minimal capacitance, and with most cartridges, I preferred 200 or 400 Ohm loads.
I moved on to ARC … loved the simplicity of making load adjustments on the fly from the remote control. Still subtle, with my preference tending to be in the sub 500 Ohm range.
My Burmester 088 is equipped with the MC Phono module. It offers several resistive and gain choices. It is solid state, and just like my Krell and Linn phono preamps, differences are clearer … but I can’t listen to any of them … they seem shrill, brittle, hard compared to either CJ or ARC. It is easy to tell the differences between loadings, but even easier to tell that my ears prefer the tubes for vinyl.
I think that MC loading is a black art. I love Lyra cartridges, and they present very detailed data and specific recommendations. Their recommendations certainly “work,” but my experience is that my ears are an even better guide for my own personal listening enjoyment.
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In the article he also mentions step up transformers.
In my experience with SUTs, they are typically used with the 47kOhm setting, with gain adjusted for an MM cartridge (43 to 53 dB range for many systems). CJ’s high gain channel on the TEA1 was based on adding SUTs in the OEM build. This channel does not include adjustments. It is set at 47k.
If you have an MM cartridge, and R is set to the typical default of 47k, you may find sonic differences as you play with the capacitive load. But most people don’t find this to make a huge difference to their ears as the MM output rise that is damped by adding C is typically outside of the range of normal human hearing.
There are exceptions to the 47kOhm MM loading. I think I remember that the Marantz Ken Ishiwata Signature integrated amp’s MM default was more like 30kOhms. It did sound very good in any case.
In my experience with SUTs, they are typically used with the 47kOhm setting, with gain adjusted for an MM cartridge (43 to 53 dB range for many systems). CJ’s high gain channel on the TEA1 was based on adding SUTs in the OEM build. This channel does not include adjustments. It is set at 47k.
If you have an MM cartridge, and R is set to the typical default of 47k, you may find sonic differences as you play with the capacitive load. But most people don’t find this to make a huge difference to their ears as the MM output rise that is damped by adding C is typically outside of the range of normal human hearing.
There are exceptions to the 47kOhm MM loading. I think I remember that the Marantz Ken Ishiwata Signature integrated amp’s MM default was more like 30kOhms. It did sound very good in any case.
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There is a number of vintage SUTs and MC phono amps that allow switching between typical 3 Ohm, 10 Ohm and 40 Ohm cartridges.
Alternatively, they may show the actual cartridge loads, which are typical a factor 10 higher. Depending on the MC cartridge you use, you can select an optimal setting and during listening, differences are clearly hearable. If your equipment hasn't got different settings, you will have to find a MC that is optimal for its fixed paramaters.
This is one of the main factors in different appriciation of various MC cartridges in different set-ups.
Best regards,
Tony
Alternatively, they may show the actual cartridge loads, which are typical a factor 10 higher. Depending on the MC cartridge you use, you can select an optimal setting and during listening, differences are clearly hearable. If your equipment hasn't got different settings, you will have to find a MC that is optimal for its fixed paramaters.
This is one of the main factors in different appriciation of various MC cartridges in different set-ups.
Best regards,
Tony
I have a Rega P8 with a Rega Ania Pro and a Modwright PH 9.0 phono. Rega recommand to set the loading of the phono at 100 ohm. My Modwright has 6 different MC resistance loading (10, 20, 50, 100, 250, 470)
I tried at 100 ohm and at 250 ohm and I prefer the 250 ohm. In my system I find that it’s more revealing (sparkle ??) in the high.
I tried at 100 ohm and at 250 ohm and I prefer the 250 ohm. In my system I find that it’s more revealing (sparkle ??) in the high.
Here is a more detailed thread about this same topic, from almost 10 years ago.
www.whatsbestforum.com
Also, please take note of Yamaha's HA-2 from 1979
audio-heritage.jp
and HA-3 from 1982
audio-heritage.jp
both used headshell-mounted JFETs as the initial part of their signal amplification scheme. There is a general schematic on the HA-2 webpage.
Due to the super short wiring between cartridge and JFET, Yamaha judged that there was no need for any resistive termination at the JFET gates, therefore the input impedance of the HA-2 was specified as being simply "in excess of 1M?".
Cartridge Loading- A Misnomer
Peter: Complete and total agreement with everything that you wrote. Being able to use higher-value loading impedances should allow you to hear more of the dynamics and resolution that the cartridge is capable of, while using lower-value loading impedances will limit how much of the cartridge's...
www.whatsbestforum.com
Also, please take note of Yamaha's HA-2 from 1979
YAMAHA HA-2の仕様 ヤマハ
and HA-3 from 1982
YAMAHA HA-3の仕様 ヤマハ
both used headshell-mounted JFETs as the initial part of their signal amplification scheme. There is a general schematic on the HA-2 webpage.
Due to the super short wiring between cartridge and JFET, Yamaha judged that there was no need for any resistive termination at the JFET gates, therefore the input impedance of the HA-2 was specified as being simply "in excess of 1M?".
I think that Stereophile article is lacking in the weeds info, especially for those that can make various adjustments to loading. I rarely find these reviewers talking about MC loading in articles, honestly I don't think they are well schooled on the subject since they almost always suggest 100 ohms or 10x internal impedence, with the expectation that you should be happy with that.
Phono cable capacitance plays into this as well, and that thread from a couple yrs ago noted above Cartridge Loading - A Misnomer is an excellent one as JCarr from Lyra gives great info. I was using a phono cable with a very high cap like 500pF and loading was at 121 ohms on my Lyra Delos. Once I read JCarr's comments I quickly purchased an AQ Cougar phono cable that is at about 70pF and started playing with loading. I immediately experienced a much higher level of resolution. I followed the Lyra mathematical suggestions and set loading at 475 ohms.........that was jawdropping improvement. Resolution was off the charts and dynamics was beyond full range. I have not looked back since, the thread fully explains why you should try to load higher at the phono stage and not at the cartridge, which could restrict cantilever movement and affect performance.
Phono cable capacitance plays into this as well, and that thread from a couple yrs ago noted above Cartridge Loading - A Misnomer is an excellent one as JCarr from Lyra gives great info. I was using a phono cable with a very high cap like 500pF and loading was at 121 ohms on my Lyra Delos. Once I read JCarr's comments I quickly purchased an AQ Cougar phono cable that is at about 70pF and started playing with loading. I immediately experienced a much higher level of resolution. I followed the Lyra mathematical suggestions and set loading at 475 ohms.........that was jawdropping improvement. Resolution was off the charts and dynamics was beyond full range. I have not looked back since, the thread fully explains why you should try to load higher at the phono stage and not at the cartridge, which could restrict cantilever movement and affect performance.
The 'correct' loading is that which sounds best to you! There are a number of technical factors going on with loading, but the important part is how they result sonically. I designed the PH 9.0 to allow for on-the-fly loading, because there are times when a particular album sounds better at a different loading. It also makes it easy to dial in the analog system. I am glad you are enjoying the PH 9.0!
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