The Supernatural Anaesthetist
Location: North East
Posts: 3,675
I'm Steve.
SUT or sale
Two things that really made me sit up and think at this years NEBO were firstly, i must develop my already slightly breathed on Techie and the other was whether or not to sell my VTL 2.5II valve phono stage or try a SUT into the MM side of it. Opinions please.
Senior Member
Location: Surrey
Posts: 4,162
I'm Mike.
I found the Ortofon SUT performance into my Naim 82 staggering
Then I added a Whest and it improved even more
The VIDA out performed the pair
I'm now trying the Ortofon into the VIDA to work out if I want to keep the Ortofon or not
TAD CD / DAC / Pre, Technics 1210, MCRU PSU, Mike New Bearing & Platter, Stillpoints LP1 weight, Speedy Steve Ebony armboard, Fidelity Research FR64FX arm, Ortofon SPU. Aurorasound VIDA Phono Pre Amp, TAD Power Amp, TAD E1 speakers. Coherent RTZ 3 Grounding box, Coherent grounding cables, Creaktiv racks. Coherent Mains Cables. SR Blue Fuse. Interconnects : Coherent and Yannis 223.5 Connect Litz. Coherent speaker cable. Audio Magic Transcendence Conditioner. Coherent mains socket. Mains Filters : , PS Audio Harvesters, Russ Andrews Purifiers, Tacima, Vertex. Black Ravioli and RDC supports. Electric Beach S1NX platforms for TAD CD and Technics. Ferrite chokes everywhere except the above. Ears, brain
Mike
Moderator & Terminator!
Location: N E Kent
Posts: 51,625
I'm Geoff.
VTL certainly know how to design a good phono stage. I'd be inclined to go the SUT/MM input route.
My old VTL Deluxe pre-amp has the best inbuilt MM phono stage I've ever come across and sounds superb with an SUT.
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!
Trade: Radlett Audio
Location: Near Saffron Walden, Essex
Posts: 7,090
I'm Dave.
Look no further than RFC's (Paul) excellent MC-1 step up x'mer. Makes nonsense of many so called, high end step ups.
Senior Member
Location: Leeds, UK
Posts: 235
I'm Darren.
the only opinion that matters is yours Steve. i've had a couple of nice SUT's in my system, neither compare to the MC side of my stage. but that's my opinion and it's not shared by everyone.
best way is to have a SUT/Phono bake off at your place and get to hear a few combos in your system.
not really sure what you want to do to the techie. what have you done upto now? get a decent arm for it, put an achromat on it, take the psu offboard - done
Don McCorleone
Location: Galashiels
Posts: 13,696
I'm inthescottishmafia.
Another option could be a head amp.
“Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”
Hunter S Thompson
In general a good, well-matched SUT into MM does a better job than a straight MC input, but it can be expensive for a good one and also difficult to match the cartridge sometimes. A cheap one can hurt rather than improve things. Agree on the head amp BTW I rate the Denon HA 500 and 1000, and the Graham Slee Elevator is great too,
Senior Member
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 458
I'm Jim.
The most important aspect of a SUT is that it has a coil impedance suited to your cartridge... This is the biggest reason why some people try them and report that things sound awful - if you have something made for 40ohm (suitable for a DL103, for instance) and connect a AT33 (with 10ohm coils) it's going to sound awful as the frequency response is going to have a big dip or peak due to the mis-match.
So... What's your cartridge?
SP-10Mk2a, Graham 2.2 tonearm. SL-1200, Graham 2.2 tonearm, AT-150mlx, Benz-Scheu Glider. Jim & Ken Super DC PSU, Oil well bearing, Acromat, Isonoes, strobe lamp switched. Pass Labs Pearl 2. Aleph J amplifier. F6 Amplifier. Nelson Pass Burning Amplifier BA-3. Pass BA-PP linestage, miniDSP 4x10, Linkwitz Labs LXmini speakers, Sony SS-M7 speakers.
DIY In progress - Syclotron Red Light district valve amp, ZenMod "Iron pre" autoformer jfet preamp, SYclotron 'His Master's Noise' valve phonostage. And about 2-3 other projects in various states at any time.
Don McCorleone
Location: Galashiels
Posts: 13,696
I'm inthescottishmafia.
Yes, have an HA 500, nice bit of kit.Originally Posted by montesquieu
“Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”
Hunter S Thompson
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