Head Amp or SUT.. im so confused

[Megaladoink]

Hey all, first whats needed for proper opinions, my setup

B&O 4004 w/ 20EN MMC
C22 Commemorative
MC275 CE
JBL C50 S7R

I first started looking at SUT's and came across a SOTA Head amp.. so I guess that this unit uses a battery which would remove the possible interference that some powered head amps could introduce. But then a SUT uses a transformer. My thinking, and by no means should i have an opinion on anything doing with electricity, wouldn't the head amp be better at current regulation being active and able to "force" the issue. For the SUT, it seems it would need to be made for specific TT input being a passive solution and "going with the flow" or actually pushing against the flow statically. But... I always felt adding more current to the system is counter intuitive. this is why the battery vs corded head amp from SOTA seemed like a good compromise.

Am I totally wrong??

Any explanations and recommendations would be highly appreciated. I do think the idea of having a base SUT and trying different transformers seems pretty cool.

 

[rothwellaudio]

Your cartridge is essentially a moving magnet cartridge, at least in terms of output voltage, source impedance and load impedance, therefore you have no need for a SUT or a headamp. Are you thinking of changing the cartridge for a low output moving coil?

You're correct that a SUT is a passive device and although it raises the output voltage from a moving coil cartridge it cannot supply any power to raise the energy of the signal, but that's only academic since the phonostage senses the voltage at its input rather than the energy.

"Better at current regulation"??? I don't know what even means.

SUTs do need to be compatible with the source impedance and output voltage of the cartridge they're paired with, but in practice a 1:10 turns ratio will work with the majority of modern MC cartridges on the market today. SUTs can pick up hum for nearby mains transformers, but it's possible to get whisper-quiet performance from a SUT by careful siting.

Headamps are completely different. They can suffer from a poor signal-to-noise ratio, but it's more likely to be hiss than hum. Some of the vintage headamps have far too much gain for modern mc cartridges, too. New ones are also pretty thin on the ground. I think there's one from Graham Slee, one from Lounge Audio, and one from me.

https://www.turntableworld.co.uk/an...ges-c7/headspace-ii-moving-coil-headamp-p4052
Mine can run on rechargeable batteries, a power supply or non-rechargeable batteries.