A question to SUT or not to SUT or JFET or not to JFET?
pros and cons and has anyone done the comparisons?
Let battle commence!
A question to SUT or not to SUT or JFET or not to JFET?
pros and cons and has anyone done the comparisons?
Let battle commence!
"lack of passion is fatal"
Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!
Location: Denbigh, N. Wales
Posts: 107
I'm Mark.
Some food for thought here, see link. Low bass and bass timing were much better with the jFet option but in the end I couldn't quite get it to sound correct to my ears on female vocals.
This is with 103R which being highish impedance does have some trouble with the primary inductance of typical step-ups.
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/phpBB3/v...957&hilit=jfet
Subjectively there is a 'calmness' and 'natural openness' associated with transformers vs. using other components. This doesn't mean a lack of dynamics.
Mana Acoustics Racks / Bright Star IsoNodes Decoupling >> Allo DigiOne Player >> Pedja Rogic's Audial Model S DAC + Pioneer PL-71 turntable / Vista Audio phono-1 mk II / Denon PCL-5 headshell / Reson Reca >> LFD DLS >> LFD PA2M (SE) >> Royd RR3s.
IMHO generalising isn't that helpful it depends on many variables, sound preferences, existing equipment etc. But I have found jFets produce great rhythm and timing at the expense of inner detail. The outcome of using various SUTs can be very fickle.
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It's very interesting. Good link mark.
"lack of passion is fatal"
Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!
Why only SUTs and JFETs? Why not BJTs and op-amps?
Step-up transformers give the lowest noise in terms of hiss but can suffer from hum if you're not careful. The frequency response etc. is generally poor compared to active circuits but still pretty respectable. In practice the sound can be delightful.
I'm not sure why JFETs are so popular for DIY LOMC headamps - maybe because it's easy to get a JFET circuit to work. However, JFETs are not ideal for low noise. Bipolar Junction Transistors (ie, the "ordinary" ones) are a better option for getting low noise. A good active circuit can have very low hiss, but not quite as low as a SUT. However, hum pickup should be less of an issue with an active circuit. The frequency response, distortion etc. can get a lot closer to text book perfect and the sound can be quite "hi-fi" in as much as it's detailed and impressive but can also be hard fatiguing.
Op-amps never used to be a serious option for LOMCs because the signal-to-noise ratio would be so poor, but some of the more modern op-amps are now good enough.
All of the above is subject to good execution of whichever circuit type is chosen. Badly routed wiring alone can ruin a circuit's performance.
And then there's valves as well... very awkward to get quiet enough valves though but I have built such a thing and used it myself for a few years. It sounded fantastic!
There are reasons other than low noise for choosing a particular type of active device of course and JFET's are my usual weapon of choice. I would not generally use BJT's in a head amp myself as most simple circuits are not adequate IMO and to remove the issues requires much more complicated circuitry. I'm not going to expand on that for commercial reasons...
I disagree that head amps sound "hi fi". They are certainly the most accurate means of stepping up the low output from a MC cart. The signal levels involved are so low that everything becomes critical, from component choice to (more important) power supply design, layout etc
Arkless Electronics-Engineered to be better. Tel. 01670 530674 (after 1pm)
Modded Thorens TD150, Audio Technica AT-1005 MkII, Technics EPC-300MC, Arkless Hybrid MC phono stage, Arkless passive pre, Arkless 50WPC Class A SS power amp, (or) Arkless modded Leak Stereo 20, Modded Kef Reference 105/3's
ReVox PR99, Studer B62, Ferrograph Series 7, Tandberg TCD440, Hitachi FT-5500MkI, also FT-5500MkII
Digital: Yamaha CDR-HD1500 (Digital Swiss army knife-CD recorder, player, hard drive, DAC and ADC in one), PC files via 24/96 sound card and SPDIF, modded Philips CD850, modded Philips CD104, modded DPA Little Bit DAC. Sennheiser HD580 cans with Arkless Headphone amp.
Cables- free interconnects that come with CD players, mains leads from B&Q, dead kettles etc, extension leads from Tesco
Yes, I'm certainly not suggesting that all active circuits sound clinical or hard and fatiguing, just that if an active circuit is sub-optimal it's more likely to sound hard than soft. A sub-optimal SUT is more likely to sound soft than hard. Yes, that's a generalization, not a strict rule. Personally, I'd be happy to live with either a good SUT or a good active headamp.
Arkless Electronics-Engineered to be better. Tel. 01670 530674 (after 1pm)
Modded Thorens TD150, Audio Technica AT-1005 MkII, Technics EPC-300MC, Arkless Hybrid MC phono stage, Arkless passive pre, Arkless 50WPC Class A SS power amp, (or) Arkless modded Leak Stereo 20, Modded Kef Reference 105/3's
ReVox PR99, Studer B62, Ferrograph Series 7, Tandberg TCD440, Hitachi FT-5500MkI, also FT-5500MkII
Digital: Yamaha CDR-HD1500 (Digital Swiss army knife-CD recorder, player, hard drive, DAC and ADC in one), PC files via 24/96 sound card and SPDIF, modded Philips CD850, modded Philips CD104, modded DPA Little Bit DAC. Sennheiser HD580 cans with Arkless Headphone amp.
Cables- free interconnects that come with CD players, mains leads from B&Q, dead kettles etc, extension leads from Tesco