optimum gain setting

[karma67]

would someone care to advise on the best gain setting for my technics mc cartridge with a output of 0.2mv and 30ohms impedance please?

[Jazid]

No experience of the cart but on paper a 10:1 will give near ideal impedance matching, a 15:1 will give near ideal gain, assuming standard 47k mm input impedance. If your phono belts out music (like my Vinyl 1) then I'd opt for 10:1, but it will depend on personal preference as much as anything.

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[karma67]

my options are,
denon head amp, 24db and 32 db,into mm stage at 2.4mv/47kohms
my pre amp has a mc stage with 200 ohms/23db,100ohms/30db and 50ohms/34db

i also have 33k loading resistors to bung into the mix.lol

[karma67]

so far using the head amp at 24db sounds best to me,i wonder if that concurs with the maths?

[Firebottle]

Yes I think that would be the best. The MM stage is fairly sensitive so using 24dB in the head amp will give you a bit more headroom for transients.

Nice set-up :)

[karma67]

thanks alan,im glad my ears are leading my in the right direction..........finally!:D

[walpurgis]

How are you getting on with the 305MC Jamie?

[karma67]

its very good geoff,im liking it a lot,it has a very forward stylus angle though,it reminds me of the decca's angle.
it doesn't beat my 103 in the mid areas but excels higher up.
im not sure of the hours its got on it so perhaps i will consider a check up/re tip in the future.

[blake]

I would also be giving straight into your preamp MC setting 200 ohms/23 dB a serious long term audition as well. That should be pretty close to ideal (arguably a 300 ohm load might be considered better/ideal but I doubt there would be much in it) as well with almost exactly the same gain structure as using the head amp and eliminate a set of interconnects and possibly unnecessary connections.

The phono stage in your preamp has a very good pedigree.