Dan_ed, Looneytunz, Joe, et al,
Whoa big fella ... I said 'may' limit. No bashing of either tubes nor MM cartridges here. But most tube phono stages only have enough gain for either MM or posibly HO MC. Sure, you could add a step-up transformer (some tube phono pre's like the oft-mentioned 834P have them integrated). But with budget concerns as they are, I just thought he shouldn't overlook some fine SS phono pre's, such as Acoustech PH-1P or Gram Slee Gold. Or he may well be happy with an MM cartridge.
Whoa big fella ... I said 'may' limit. No bashing of either tubes nor MM cartridges here. But most tube phono stages only have enough gain for either MM or posibly HO MC. Sure, you could add a step-up transformer (some tube phono pre's like the oft-mentioned 834P have them integrated). But with budget concerns as they are, I just thought he shouldn't overlook some fine SS phono pre's, such as Acoustech PH-1P or Gram Slee Gold. Or he may well be happy with an MM cartridge.