Most cost effective (best value) means of getting a setup for a LOMC cartridge?

I don't think loading/ohms specs are crucial with a head amp, as they are with transformers. I do believe it will work fine with all MC cartridges.

SUTs, on the other hand, need careful impedance matching. I have never heard a SUT, unfortunately, as some say a well matched one with a good phonostage sound spectacular.

To be honest, I find messing with the resistive cartridge loading for MC carts to be vastly overrated, as long as the load resistance is high enough (10x is generally a good rule of thumb, 5x is usually well enough, at about 3x it starts to get hairy in my experience, but depends on the cart and phono stage / SUT / headamp also). Also IME it's actually the opposite to what you state, generally speaking with SUTs it seems to be more forgiving.

As for loading, when you start to go lower from 10x times the cartridge impedance, somewhere around 5x and lower the sound starts to subtly change, until those changes become less than subtle, at which point it usually sounds like crap already... so yeah, there might be a 'sweet spot' there, but generally speaking it's actually MM cartridges with which both resistive AND capacitive loading matters way more. It's just your average MM cartridge user is not as "discerning" about ultimate sound quality, while the more audiophile types into expensive MC carts and the like will generally be more about getting everything "just right", which has probably lead to the common perception that with MC cartridges loading matters somehow more than with MMs.

At least that's my take on the subject.
 
There are Denon AU-320s on ebay for $300, and an AU-300 for $200 at the moment.

IME, SUTs have beat the active MC stages of the phono preamps I've tried. They also seem to remove loading fussiness.
 
There are Denon AU-320s on ebay for $300, and an AU-300 for $200 at the moment.

IME, SUTs have beat the active MC stages of the phono preamps I've tried. They also seem to remove loading fussiness.

I see. So all I need is one of those badboys an I should be fairly well equipped to handle most cartridges (provided they don't have really high internal impedance)?
 
In my experience, yes.

Welcome to AK!

:)
Thanks! I've seen articles that basically state that if can achieve a certain level of loading (10x the internal impedance of the cartridge) you're good to go, and that extra resistance doesn't really do anything. Problems are only encountered when too little loading is applied. I don't particularly understand the science of it (I haven't found a good explanation yet).
 
I built a SUT using Jensen JT-115K transformers, a small metal case, 4 RCA jacks and some wire. Spent less than $75 and it sounds great. Running it into a tube MM phono stage.
 
The Harmonious Audio MPA-1a mk-ii Moving Coil MC Head Amplifier is IMO the cheapest way to get decent sound out of your MC cartridge and the MM phonostage in your Pioneer.

My recommendation for a first MC cart is the Benz-Micro MC20E2-L, if you can find one in excellent condition for under $200 USD.

The HA and Benz would run you around $300, total.

Good luck! Beware of getting sucked into the $$$ world of MC, though!

I had one of those. It was noisy and sounded nowhere near as good as any actual SUT I've tried.

I'd look at a used Fidelity Research FRT-3 SUT
 
To be honest, I find messing with the resistive cartridge loading for MC carts to be vastly overrated, as long as the load resistance is high enough (10x is generally a good rule of thumb, 5x is usually well enough, at about 3x it starts to get hairy in my experience, but depends on the cart and phono stage / SUT / headamp also). Also IME it's actually the opposite to what you state, generally speaking with SUTs it seems to be more forgiving.

As for loading, when you start to go lower from 10x times the cartridge impedance, somewhere around 5x and lower the sound starts to subtly change, until those changes become less than subtle, at which point it usually sounds like crap already... so yeah, there might be a 'sweet spot' there, but generally speaking it's actually MM cartridges with which both resistive AND capacitive loading matters way more. It's just your average MM cartridge user is not as "discerning" about ultimate sound quality, while the more audiophile types into expensive MC carts and the like will generally be more about getting everything "just right", which has probably lead to the common perception that with MC cartridges loading matters somehow more than with MMs.

At least that's my take on the subject.
I agree with everything you said :beerchug:
 
What's the best value for money option?
You can get an mc-compatible outboard phonostage for not a lot of money, so maybe that would qualify as the best value for money option.
Yes, SUTs do tend to be expensive but a used one from ebay (or wherever) might be had for reasonable money. You'll probably get the same money back if you decide to sell it.
 
if you're into DIY and can handle a little electronic math, try an opamp-based
phono preamp. adjust the gain (follow the spec sheet for the opamp) to
yield 50-60db versus the normal (for MM) 45db. its a worse case of
changing 2 resistors per channel for the gain, and whatever you decide
for the loading. maybe some caps here and there.

cheap assembled board, plus cheap single-to-dual voltage converters, and
any spare laptop battery charger . under $100 then you can upgrade if
you find better units.

or go with a kit that has all this in assembled or kit form.

later you can the various options out there.
 
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