Dear friends: I'm not against the SUT " per se ", I'm against what the SUT makes to the cartridge signal: heavy degradation.
I like many of you used the SUT for many years till I discovery that the best SUT is NO SUT. I already try severals SUT's and all of them do a severe degradation to the cartridge signal.
Maybe some of you can think that an Audio NOte Kondo or Expressive Technologies SUT's don't have any problem: wrong, all SUT's have the same problems and all of them degraded the cartridge signal.
We have to understand that the low output MC cartridges was not build " thinking " in a low gain phonopreamps ( tube or SS ). The low gain phonopreamps like yours is only for CD, high output MC and MM cartridges ( btw: Music Maker, Sumiko and Audio Technica have great cartridges too ).
Tha's why I can tell you that if you have a low gain phono stage with a low output MC cartridge: you choose the wrong cartridge to go. For any one can enjoy and discover ( really enjoy ) the " magic " quality sound reproduction of a low output MC cartridge any one needs a high-gain phono preamp, with out any PATCH ( external/internal SUT/Autoformer. With out any mis-match between cartridge impedance and SUT that equalized the cartridge signal, always. ) ) no question about, period. There are many options of high gain phono preamps out there including the CTC one.
When you are using a low output MC cartridge with a low gain phono preamp it is like if you want to scale the Everest in a Ferrari Testa Rosa or like you want to swim in the sea dressed with a Tuxedo instead of a swimwear. Sure you can to swim dressed on a Tuxedo but: Imagine that!!! That's what you have on your audio system, it does not matters if your audio systems cost 10K or 500K.
All things in the music/audio world have their specific place. Some body tell us that can change it with a terrible TWO COINS PATCH, that's is unfair for you for us and for your and us whole investment.
Of course if you really don't care about the music you can swim with a Tuxedo. No problem at all.
Styx, Phil and Doug: I think that you have a misconception about audio noise generated on a SUT or any other audio device. There a re audible and non-audible noises, this ones are the must critical because these noises modulated the signal and put heavy colorations on it. The SUT is terrible in this kind of problem. You don't hear the noise as a noise you hear it as an additional colorations in the cartridge signal. Stay away.
Khrys: You have a great and very serious audio system: a " gold " system ". Don't show the " cooper " on you, I think that you are better much better person that your post.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
