MC loading at 47K


Hi All,

Just after some expert advice from your good selves if I may. My current system is as follows:

Musical Fidelity KW550 intergrated amp which has a MM and MC section, both loaded at 47K. The only difference between them is the step up voltage.

My turntable is the Rega P9 with Ortofon Kontrapunkt A.

Looking at changing my cartridge but honestly cant decide between MM or MC.

My music taste are as follows:

Reggae
Soul
Female Vocal
RNB

No classical or jazz.

So what should I choose based I'm only limited to a 47K loading. I was thinking either of the below:

1. Ortofon Jubilee (MC)
2. Ortofon 2M black (MM)
3. Clear Audio Maestro (MM)

Is there a down side to loading up a MC so much?

Thoughts please...thanks
che13
It's simple electrical theory and physics young man.

You need to read more and post less.
This has been covered in other threads.

However, in a nutshell there is a simple reason that you see variable results. It has to do with how sensitive the phono section is to Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

Now its a fact that at almost any loading value you can put on a LOMC, you will not affect the response of the unit at audio frequencies. But when you install the loading resistor (often quite low in the case of LOMC) you can hear a change.

This is because the cartridge has an inductance, the the interconnect cable has a capacitance. Together they form a tuned circuit at ultrasonic (RF) frequencies. The action of the the cartridge playing provides the energy- and so the tuned circuit thus injects RFI directly into the phono input.

Now if the phono section is stable with the presence of RFI at its input, you will not hear a lot of effect with loading the cartridge. But if RFI is able to mess with your phono section, then you will hear big differences. The effect of a resistance is that it lowers the energy of the tuned circuit. When that energy is low enough, the perception will be that you found the sweet spot.

Mind you, this is the 'nutshell' version of this explanation. But it does explain why you will see difference of opinion here.

The bottom line: if you hear big differences with loading, your phono section is sensitive to RFI.
I know but apparently way over your head. You should just give up this line of work.
Here is a useful reference for those of you who want to get some facts on the loading of a MC cartridge.
http://www.extremephono.com/Loading.htm
Lowering the numerical value (increasing the load) will muddy or blur the presentation.