phono stage question

I looked at the Helikon's specs and see that the recommended load is from 100 ohms to 47k-ohms. The MM section of the VTL is probably loaded at 47k-ohms. So if the cartridge sounds "bright" to you in the highs, that is the probable cause... But that shouldn't hurt anything as long as you like the sound.

This also probably means that if you ever try to use a high output cartridge you'll be back to barely being able to move the volume control, even on the lower gain MM inputs.

I am not familiar with the phono stage of your preamp but some havve adjustable gain. did you look at the owners manual?

It would bug me if: 1. The high output phono stage was sarurating the first amplification stage on your pre-amp (signs could be loss of dynamics, blown fuses or speaker damage due to clipping). 2. I thought there was a chance that I'd really hammer my power amp and speakers if I forgot and left the volume in the cd player position and then dropped the needle. Were it I, the high gain would make me crazy from wondering about sound degradation and worrying about blue smoke. I'd drop a couple hundred in some attenuators if needed, after contacting the vendors to ask about the best/cheapest way to drop gain a bit.

Jeff_jones,

I think you have it backwards in terms of Mikeyaya's question. I believe he was wondering if there was any reason not to use the low gain mm setting.

Piedpiper - Yup. Mea Culpa. Thanks.