I'm pleased to announce that Needledoctor in the USA are now stocking Rothwell step-up transformers
http://www.needledoctor.com/Welcome?search=Rothwell
http://www.needledoctor.com/Welcome?search=Rothwell
new supplier of SUTs in USA
- Thread starter rothwellaudio
- Start date
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Customers in the USA might find it more convenient to buy from a supplier in the USA, or simply prefer it. Lets hope so 
MudSlideSlim
Well-Known Member
Well done Andrew.
Actually, all Rothwell transformers have always been available to customers in the USA via the online shop - which handles orders from anywhere in the world. Still, it's nice to have the option of buying from a "local" stockist too.
BTW, the value of the pound against the dollar is currently making UK products very attractive to US customers, at least from a price point of view.
BTW, the value of the pound against the dollar is currently making UK products very attractive to US customers, at least from a price point of view.
Grbluen
Super Member
I have a "complete"lack of knowledge when it comes to SUTs, what do you recommend for a Dynavector 20x2l? This would be feeding either the mm input on a Yamaha cr-1020 or a Simaudio Moon 310lp.Actually, all Rothwell transformers have always been available to customers in the USA via the online shop - which handles orders from anywhere in the world. Still, it's nice to have the option of buying from a "local" stockist too.
BTW, the value of the pound against the dollar is currently making UK products very attractive to US customers, at least from a price point of view.
Thanks,
Don
And why an SUT vs an MC amp? I've read up on both, but still don't understand why one is preferable.
Grbluen
Super Member
Some members have mentioned that it is preferable. This is what I'm trying to figure out!
muovimies
Super Member
I'll add my two cents - doesn't really matter if you get that extra ~20dB from a SUT or headamp, both can be anything from bad to excellent. Both can be very silent and sonically transparent. But it's an imperfect world and
if you do get some noise, with SUTs it tends to be some low-level hum (which you can usually get rid of by good shielding & careful placement) while with active devices it's likely to be hiss. With very low output cartridges (say 0.1mV or so) I think a SUT is usually more practical. I haven't heard that many SUTs in my system, 3 to be exact, all were very musically satisfying but only one of them was what I'd call completely transparent in the context of my system. Noise wasn't an issue with any. As it happens I've also had 3 different phono preamps with MC capability, all 3 did the job. Best results were obtained by the stage using high quality low-noise JFETs for MC gain - with that one and the best SUT I had, I couldn't really tell a difference. Ultimately the SUT was a bit more quiet, though it did have the slightest bit of hum at the levels the JFET stage started to suffer from some hiss - but in both cases that was way above actual listening levels and thus a complete non-issue.
I do think SUTs have some kind of 'valve-esque' pedigree to them, there's just something cool about them and like with valves, many of them have the insides sprinkled with some kind of magic pixie dust which makes them providing very musically enjoyable results. But similar results are obtainable from active amplification as well, there's just more to go wrong with that approach, either due to insuffient quality of components, or design or both.
In closing I'd like to wish Rothwell success with both direct sales and through their new US supplier
if you do get some noise, with SUTs it tends to be some low-level hum (which you can usually get rid of by good shielding & careful placement) while with active devices it's likely to be hiss. With very low output cartridges (say 0.1mV or so) I think a SUT is usually more practical. I haven't heard that many SUTs in my system, 3 to be exact, all were very musically satisfying but only one of them was what I'd call completely transparent in the context of my system. Noise wasn't an issue with any. As it happens I've also had 3 different phono preamps with MC capability, all 3 did the job. Best results were obtained by the stage using high quality low-noise JFETs for MC gain - with that one and the best SUT I had, I couldn't really tell a difference. Ultimately the SUT was a bit more quiet, though it did have the slightest bit of hum at the levels the JFET stage started to suffer from some hiss - but in both cases that was way above actual listening levels and thus a complete non-issue.
I do think SUTs have some kind of 'valve-esque' pedigree to them, there's just something cool about them and like with valves, many of them have the insides sprinkled with some kind of magic pixie dust which makes them providing very musically enjoyable results. But similar results are obtainable from active amplification as well, there's just more to go wrong with that approach, either due to insuffient quality of components, or design or both.
In closing I'd like to wish Rothwell success with both direct sales and through their new US supplier
Don I'd look into Rothwell's Phono Head Amp, head amps are far more flexible in terms of use than a SUT since they are adjustable in gain and loading.
Rothwell Headspace
http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/html/headspace_mc_headamp.html
Thanks for all the kind words of support from forum members - much appreciated 
You wouldn't actually need a SUT with the Simaudio but you may (or may not) prefer the sound with a SUT.
I'd recommend a turns ratio of 1:10 for that cartridge though a slightly higher ratio would be ok too. You could go up to 1:20 but I wouldn't go higher than that.
You wouldn't actually need a SUT with the Simaudio but you may (or may not) prefer the sound with a SUT.
I agree wholeheartedly with muovimies' analysis above so I won't repeat what he has said, just endorse it.
