step up transformer for clearaudio

Thanks for your responses. I was really about to change my phono preamp to a tron seven which would set me back around 4k dollars. My clearaudio is okay but i find that it lacks weight in the bass and mids as when i auditioned the tron seven. The tron with its built in sut sounded a lot better than the clears...more weight i would say. This is why i heeded a friends advice to try a step up which i did and so far has improved the sound of the clear. Im really ignorant with regards to specs thats why im quite worried that will it have a long term negative effect if i continue using it. So far i have not heard any distortions what so ever.. if i am overloading my clears, would i hear it immediately or it would slowly ruin the clear if i continue using the step up? thanks

My system did not "NEED" the step up but sounds better with it. This has been discussed in the review of it in TEN AUDIO and in recent discussions of SUTs in STEREOPHILE. Theoretically Rauliruegas is correct, I avoided SUTs for years. But we don't listen to theories. The discussions in STEREOPHILE I mentioned include how the writer finally tried a combination that "OBVIOUSLY" would not work and it was the best he had tried. Also he (Rauliruegas) prefers MM so he doesn't need one. It you were having overload I believe it would be obvious to you.

Csr827,

A friend of mine has a Tron phonostage. The design does not afford the user any options on loading, gain, or anything else and the designer insists that the tubes provided are the "best" for that particular design.

While I thought that the phonostage was okay for the money, it performed MUCH better with different tubes in it. I am sure the right combination is really system/personal preference dependent, but, don't take the designer's word for what is best. Do some experimentation on your own. In this particular system, the Amperex bugle boy 12AX7s (I believe) sounded the best.

We did not do any experiments with loading, but I suppose you could do that also. I have a phonostage with a SUT built in, and I optimized its performance by changing the loading of the primary of the transformer. If you don't know how to do this, I am sure you can find someone who can help.

I personally like the sound of preamps with SUTs, but, matching to particular cartridges is an added complication that can make things a hit or miss affair. Perhaps more work, but the result can be very rewarding.

I am quite a supporter for SUT, but only for LOMC.
A SUT suits the chain the better the lower the output of the MC and its source impedance (and the resulting source inductance).
You may try a 1:4 step up with 8 to 12dB gain.
This might work well and tell you a few things about your MC. But the question is - as Axel pointed out - whether your phono stage can handle the input.
Always keep in mind, that the SUT and the cartridge are a team. You need to match the right "teammates" - otherwise the "best" SUT will sound terrible with the "best" MC if their technical parameters aren't matching.

Dertonarm,

I agree that a SUT is a good approach to dealing with low output moving coils. Such cartridges need an additional stage of amplification and any form of active amplification adds noise whereas an SUT does not add noise.