Ortofon Per Windfeld Load Impedance?

Amplitude, surely you lose more than just amplitude at longer lengths?

Zieman, the traditional problem with long interconnects is loss of high frequencies. I say traditional because the case of a low output moving coil is a special case. The source impedance of the cartridge is very low- often only a few ohms. Although they don't make much **voltage**, they do make quite a lot of **current**, else it would not be possible for one to drive a 100 ohm load with no loss of output. Try doing that with a tube preamp (the only one I know of that can do that is our own MP-1...)!

So- this is what you have to understand: **There will be no loss in volume, even if the cable is 50 feet!** The source impedance of the cartridge will be unperturbed by the very slight resistance of only a couple of ohms presented by a long cable. The load of the cartridge remains the important variable, and it is here that you will likely hear more difference on account of the quality of the resistor than you will the cable.

You will also hear changes that have little to do with the cable- just pulling the cable out of the back of the preamp and plugging it in again can result in a change if you have any corrosion on your connectors (gold notwithstanding...), plus minor changes that resulted from your messing with the connection at the base of the arm.

This is one of the reasons I like the Triplanar- the only connection is at the cartridge (no removable headshell) and at the preamp- the cable is integrated. The variables of connections are eliminated.

OK, If you're a triplanar fan you must have something going on upstairs. Tri has explained this issue to me in person. Including the limited choices in arm wire. So what is the brand name of this pre?

So what is the brand name of this pre?
Zieman (Threads | Answers)

You're kidding, right?

Atma-Sphere...as in the moniker of the man posting the reply, and who wote:

11-20-08: Atmasphere
...(the only one I know of that can do that is our own MP-1...)!

Taylor514,

the Windfeld, like other Ortofons, has a low internal resistance of 4 ohms only.

In Germany, many vinyl-junkies use the formula of the load impedance being at least 10 times the value of the internal resistance, Bill Feil gave you the rule of 25 times. That seems to be about right for a lot of cartridges, including from Ortofon - but not for the Windfeld.

I own the Ortofon Vienna, which is produced for the German market only, and which was until the Windfeld the best cartridge Ortofon ever made. It has internal resistance of 4 ohms, too.

I cannot comment myself on loading values, as my McIntosh preamp includes an Ortofon-built internal step-up transformer, and excluded both the neccesity and the possibility to experiment with different loading values.

However, Matthias Böde, editor of German magazine Stereo and a hard-core-vinyl-lover, found the Vienna to sound best with a load impedance of 80 ohms - as other Ortofons before.

The Windfeld, however, seems to be a different beast.

Dirk Sommer, editor of image hifi, an experienced vinyl reviewer in the mold of Michael Fremer, found the Windfeld to sound good when offered a load impedance of 500 ohms, which was the hightest value his Einstein phono preamp offered.

Stefan Gawlick, in another review in magazine HiFi&Records, wrote that the Windfeld sounded best when offered a load impedance of close to 1000 ohms, using several phono preamps.

Regards,
Florian Hassel