Phono stage heresy

[Barry]

Be careful with EMTs 'cause they have a rather highish internal impendance of 20 ohms and a higher than average output of 1mV@5cm/sec. I run my JSD 6 into a dedicated SUT from H.M.Fabritius (http://www.fabtech.de/de_eigene-produkte_stc.html) which was used in the famous EMT turntables. Technical specs for all EMT catridges are the same except the LZ-Tondose (http://www.fabtech.de/de_tonabnehmer_lz-systeme.html) which is compatible with Ortofon's SPU.
Have to add my JSD 6 sounds fabolous mounted on an SME V on a Techy 1210.

Thanks for that Michael.

According to the spec sheet supplied with my EMT TSD-15 (I have two of them: one fitted with a spherical tip, the other with a "fine line stylus") and EMT XSD-15 cartridges, the internal resistance is 22 Ohm and the output 0.15mV.sec/cm, so 0.75mV@5cm/sec.

To date I have run them either into the Quad44 fitted with "4A" phono boards, or a Mark Levinson ML-25 phonostage set to 100 Ohm and 44dB gain.

I'm not sure what the loading is on the EMT 155st equalisation amplifier fitted to my EMT390 turntable. I'll have to look at the circuit, but from memory I believe it is ~ 200 Ohm.

Nice to learn the JSD 6 is a good match with the SME V. I have a "nude" or stripped-down EMT 15 generator that needs repair. One day I will probably buy myself an SME V and fit the EMT into that.

Thanks again

[FunkArt]

Are you absolutely sure the values were the same?

Would being Laser trimmed to match be deemed a good enough?
- hence the (gulp) £100 price tag (1980s prices!!) for 8 resistors.

[Oldpinkman]

Arthur you're hyperbole-ing about electronics. In public. I'll set the boy jones on you. You know the rule. If its real - repeat it! Too long ago. Too many variables, sample size of one...

[YNWaN]

Would being Laser trimmed to match be deemed a good enough?
- hence the (gulp) £100 price tag (1980s prices!!) for 8 resistors.

I was thinking more of the ones that were replaced, rather than the replacements?

I've used Z-foil resistors as cartridge loading and heard a (IMO) worthwhile difference - but subjective quantity is not easy to judge/compare.

[Floyddroid]

I have indeed found the subject of phono stages to be a bloomin mine field. Had some great on board jobbies. The Exposure on board circuits were very good i recall. What i have learned of late though is that obtaining a phono stage that gives you somewhere near the sound you are wanting and twaeking it with various componants just like Mr Arkless does is the road to Nirvana.
Of the stand alone units i have heard that sound freat straight out of the box is Virkon's Ayre which does sound the dogs.

[Oldpinkman]

Got my new toy. Will let you know when its working if Arthur was right

[paskinn]

Can't agree. I owned the Pip 11, and then a fully vishayed version. It was a fine bit of kit, but there are plenty of phonostages that can match it, at least to my ears. The best are usually based round valves with a really fine step-up, and they are pricey too. Never owned the SP10 but did have an SP11, which was lovely. Conrad Johnson also made especially fine sounding devices. Among the more affordable stuff...Croft is the one. And for thosed who prefer solid state, my vote would go for one of the LFD devices. Comfortably the best ss I ever heard. Curiously, Richard Bewes was connected to the Pip through Malcolm Hawksford and Essex University. Small world. The LFD battery phonostage, vastly expensive, was a big advance on the Pip. Very special.

[Batty]

The Copland CSA-14 has a very nice MM phonostage, coupled with a good step up device works well with MC too (does that count as a 2 box solution?).
As I have 2 TTs running atm I use the Copland for MM and a Bugle2 for MC.

[paskinn]

Can't agree. I owned the Pip 11, and then a fully vishayed version. It was a fine bit of kit, but there are plenty of phonostages that can match it, at least to my ears. The best are usually based round valves with a really fine step-up, and they are pricey too. Never owned the SP10 but did have an SP11, which was lovely. Conrad Johnson also made especially fine sounding devices. Among the more affordable stuff...Croft is the one. And for thosed who prefer solid state, my vote would go for one of the LFD devices. Comfortably the best ss I ever heard. Curiously, Richard Bewes was connected to the Pip through Malcolm Hawksford and Essex University. Small world. The LFD battery phonostage, vastly expensive, was a big advance on the Pip. Very special.

Being more dense than usual. The vishayed unit Arthur talks about must have been my unit; he did it for me just before Christmas probably 20 years ago. How time flies.....it's too long ago to be sure, but I didn't feel the pip had been transformed....improved would be fairer, to my ears. It still sounded like the Pip. but a touch smoother and darker. For me, Arthur's great triumph was the 'Anniversary', which he now spends time modifying. Shame, because it was always such a classy deck in its own right. My particular fantasy was a Pink Anniversary built by SME. Pink made great products....sorry, rambling through old age and nostalgia.