watchnerd
Grand Contributor
Current cartridge: Audio Technica AT33/EV (moving coil, 0.3mV output, 10 ohm internal impedance)
Phono Stage: Phono input of Devialet Expert 400, set to 100 ohm loading, RIAA EQ. DSP-based, so involves ADC.
Issue:
The Devialet has the quietest active phono stage I've ever heard, but if I crank it really loud (0dB to +3dB), and there is no music playing, there is a large amount of hiss.
At moderate listening volumes that I typically use (-20dB to -10 dB), the hiss is not really audible unless I stick my ear close to the tweeter.
Other than this, the Devialet phono stage is provides state of the art configuration options and incredibly low distortion.
Question:
I have never used a SUT (step up transformer) in a phono system. I've read some subjective claims of which I'm skeptical (they improve soundstaging, air), or at least think, if they exist, might be caused by inadvertent changes in cartridge loading (because there are no magic pixies in a SUT). I've also read:
"Apart from the issue of noise, the sound quality of transformers is something their advocates swear by. The distortion produced by audio transformers is of a completely different nature to that produced by a transistor amplifier. The harmonic distortion in transformers is greatest at the lowest frequencies and falls rapidly as the frequency rises, whereas in transistor amplifiers distortion more usually rises as the frequency rises. More importantly, intermodulation distortion tends to be lower in transformers than it is transistor amplifiers. The outcome is that although transformers aren't absolutely free of distortion (nothing is), the distortion is very benign compared to the distortion produced by many transistor amplifiers. This explains why the sound produced when a moving coil cartridge is used with a good transformer is so sublime and can create an open and spacious soundstage with amazing separation between instruments.
The case against transformers is simply one of cost. Transistors can be as cheap as a few pennies (or less when bought in sufficient quantities) whereas transformers always cost a lot more, by as much as a factor of several thousand, due to the expensive materials used in the core and the cost of the copper windings in terms of both material and labour."
(Source: http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/html/mc_step-up_transformers_explai.html)
SUTs seem to run in the range of $1000-$1500, which is shockingly expensive for a bunch of wound copper. In the context of my system, that's less than my turntable + tonearm, but more than my cartridge. Which makes me question if it's a good investment -- granted, a SUT won't wear out, like a cartridge, but does have a limited range of step up ratios, which means it won't work with every MC cart out there.
So....
Would moving to a SUT lower the noise with no price to pay elsewhere (other than $$$)?
Or would it just add more complexity (another device, another set of interconnects, more risk of hum), more cost, and little probable benefit?
Phono Stage: Phono input of Devialet Expert 400, set to 100 ohm loading, RIAA EQ. DSP-based, so involves ADC.
Issue:
The Devialet has the quietest active phono stage I've ever heard, but if I crank it really loud (0dB to +3dB), and there is no music playing, there is a large amount of hiss.
At moderate listening volumes that I typically use (-20dB to -10 dB), the hiss is not really audible unless I stick my ear close to the tweeter.
Other than this, the Devialet phono stage is provides state of the art configuration options and incredibly low distortion.
Question:
I have never used a SUT (step up transformer) in a phono system. I've read some subjective claims of which I'm skeptical (they improve soundstaging, air), or at least think, if they exist, might be caused by inadvertent changes in cartridge loading (because there are no magic pixies in a SUT). I've also read:
"Apart from the issue of noise, the sound quality of transformers is something their advocates swear by. The distortion produced by audio transformers is of a completely different nature to that produced by a transistor amplifier. The harmonic distortion in transformers is greatest at the lowest frequencies and falls rapidly as the frequency rises, whereas in transistor amplifiers distortion more usually rises as the frequency rises. More importantly, intermodulation distortion tends to be lower in transformers than it is transistor amplifiers. The outcome is that although transformers aren't absolutely free of distortion (nothing is), the distortion is very benign compared to the distortion produced by many transistor amplifiers. This explains why the sound produced when a moving coil cartridge is used with a good transformer is so sublime and can create an open and spacious soundstage with amazing separation between instruments.
The case against transformers is simply one of cost. Transistors can be as cheap as a few pennies (or less when bought in sufficient quantities) whereas transformers always cost a lot more, by as much as a factor of several thousand, due to the expensive materials used in the core and the cost of the copper windings in terms of both material and labour."
(Source: http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/html/mc_step-up_transformers_explai.html)
SUTs seem to run in the range of $1000-$1500, which is shockingly expensive for a bunch of wound copper. In the context of my system, that's less than my turntable + tonearm, but more than my cartridge. Which makes me question if it's a good investment -- granted, a SUT won't wear out, like a cartridge, but does have a limited range of step up ratios, which means it won't work with every MC cart out there.
So....
Would moving to a SUT lower the noise with no price to pay elsewhere (other than $$$)?
Or would it just add more complexity (another device, another set of interconnects, more risk of hum), more cost, and little probable benefit?