Hi Andy,

All good (and useful) points, which are noted

Barry did a basic calculation for me earlier about how much capacitance the SC35C likes to 'see', which he roughly worked out as 180pF [on top of what capacitance already exists], and which in practice, judging by ear, seems pretty spot on.

At the moment I'm using 150pF plugs, but will get some 180pF ones custom-made, as I think that's where the sweet spot lies... 150 sounds fab (although could possibly be marginally bettered), and 200 is too much, including any figure over that.

This sort of experimenting though has been a real revelation, as it pretty much renders every MM cartridge I've ever used as not having been heard optimally!

No, I assessed the Houdini independently of the loading plugs, so I know exactly what both are doing/have done.

So when are you treating yourself to an 'H'? Your system definitely deserves one

Marco.