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Low Output Grado questions -

MisterDK

MisterDK

Addicted Member
Hey folks!
I’m curious about the low output Grados.

Is everyone using these just at higher gain settings on their phono preamp?
This may seem a foolish question but.. can a SUT successfully be used with them or would loading be all wrong?

Thanks.
 
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Unless it's output is higher then 2.5mv, you have to use a higher gain setting. Assuming you are thinking about a low ouput MC cartridge from Grado, you will need an MC phono preamp that has multiple gain settings and cartridge loading options. You need to do a little research on this subject.
 
WaynerN said:
Unless it's output is higher then 2.5mv, you have to use a higher gain setting. Assuming you are thinking about a low ouput MC cartridge from Grado, you will need an MC phono preamp that has multiple gain settings and cartridge loading options. You need to do a little research on this subject.
Click to expand...

Not MC, they’re MI cartridges, as far as i know. Their low output versions that I’m considering are around 1mV.
Loading on those is like for most other MM & MI cartridges; about 47K Ohms, though Grado is recommending between 10K and 47K. I already have several phono preamps with multiple gain and load settings - just wondering if anyone has tried a SUT with one of these (somewhat unusual) low output MI’s.
 
MisterDK said:
Not MC, they’re MI cartridges, as far as i know. Their low output versions that I’m considering are around 1mV.
Loading on those is like for most other MM & MI cartridges; about 47K Ohms, though Grado is recommending between 10K and 47K. I already have several phono preamps with multiple gain and load settings - just wondering if anyone has tried a SUT with one of these (somewhat unusual) low output MI’s.
Click to expand...
Yes you are right they are MI. Loading wont affect them much, I looked into this a lot when I got mine. The Grado preamp was 47k so I worried that the gain of my Harmonious head amp was wrong. It turned out though that the MC stange of my DNM had enough gain and I set it to 47k, then I tried the Harmonious on both settings both both far lower than 10k and it made little to no difference which is no surprise as Grado low output are not affected much by loading.
Chris
 
cafe latte said:
Yes you are right they are MI. Loading wont affect them much, I looked into this a lot when I got mine. The Grado preamp was 47k so I worried that the gain of my Harmonious head amp was wrong. It turned out though that the MC stange of my DNM had enough gain and I set it to 47k, then I tried the Harmonious on both settings both both far lower than 10k and it made little to no difference which is no surprise as Grado low output are not affected much by loading.
Chris
Click to expand...

That’s interesting; thanks, Chris. I may try one with a low gain SUT I have (1:5 ratio) and give it a listen. If it’s not good, I can always up the gain and use only the phono pre.
 
MisterDK said:
Not MC, they’re MI cartridges, as far as i know. Their low output versions that I’m considering are around 1mV.
Loading on those is like for most other MM & MI cartridges; about 47K Ohms, though Grado is recommending between 10K and 47K. I already have several phono preamps with multiple gain and load settings - just wondering if anyone has tried a SUT with one of these (somewhat unusual) low output MI’s.
Click to expand...
I have no direct experience of Grado cartridges and without knowing the model(s) which you have in mind I can't look up the specs. Having said that, if the output is around 1mV and the SUT you have in mind has a low turns ratio, it should work fine. I'd recommend between 1:3 and 1:5. I don't think you should higher than 1:5.
I sell a step-up transformer intended for "high output" moving coils whose output isn't really all that high. I'm thinking of cartridges around 1.5mV, which is high compared to a typical LOMC cartridge but still low compared to a typical MM cartridge. I'd expect it to work well with a low output MI cartridge.
MC1Hs.JPG

http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/html/sut_for_homc.html
Btw, there's an error on that page which I've just spotted. The input impedance isn't 400 ohms. I'll correct that.
 
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