MC Step-up transformers

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Thanks for the advice. I got (from a Japan business trip) the Denon at about USD80+ intending to use together with the DL103R. I believe that is quite cheap? I still have not opened the packing, so I can still pretty much sell it away. I will try to explore the Lundahl options... which should I be using? :)
 
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OK, you got the Denon cheap...

I cannot remember the Lundahl type, I use Jenssen, that I bought used, and glued into a small box. (I did not have any mounting-hardware).

Arne K
 

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Sarchi said:
I believe you'd want a 1:10 for the 103 and a typical 47K MM stage. I have a DL103 and I've just ordered the LL9206's from K&K (kandkaudio.com). If you trust an "industry guy", Mike Elliott of Counterpoint fame has a comparison of several trafos, it starts about 5/6 of the way down this page. http://www.ariaaudio.com/PreampNews.html
He liked the Sowters the best.


When you purchased the LL9206's did you spring for the mounting boards or were you going to mount them to your own boards? Do you agree with Mike's review of the LL9206's

I was going to buy some altecs on ebay but got tired of getting out bid so I just ordered some LL9206's from K&K's today thanks to your link. Thanks!
 
YES...these things sound fabulous so far in my system. For the cost I think they're amazing. I don't think vintage trafos would hold a candle to the modern amorphous cores. I did go for the little boards, they're cleverly designed, but you may go blind soldering the jumpers for 20dB gain. They are tiny. :whazzat:

Also, to get rid of hum I had to tie the input and output RCA shields together, that's what Kevin suggested and it worked perfectly. A metal Hammond box takes care of the rest of the shielding.
 
Why do you need a step up transformer for the Grado and the Audio Technica? They are both moving magnets with an output near 5mv. The 103 is moving coil with a low output of less than .5mv. You need to decide on a cartridge first and then decide if you need a step up transformer. Moving magnets do not need any kind of step up since they have plenty of output.
 
I stand corrected. I had forgotten that the OC9 is a moving coil with low output so you will need something to step up the voltage. The Grado Statement has an output of .75mv. This output is enough if you have high gain phono stage. I have no idea if it will work into step up transformer.
Something to play with while you are deciding which transformer to use that is dirt cheap and sounds good is a op amp. The njm 2122 is ultra quiet and you can set the gain to about 33dBs with a 100 ohm and 3.3k ohm resistor and two 9v batteries. The 2122 is very cheap and the resistors should as quiet as you can afford with whatever loading you need. You could set it up with a 8 pin dip switch. I've built several of these and they are shockingly good with high quality resistors. You can parallel two 9v batteries for longer baterry life.
 
I ended up going with the LL9206's in the end and think they sound amazing. I can not say that I have much to compare them to for transformers but I am happy with the purchase. They are in the shielded metal cases in the bottom corner. It took a lot of grounding but it operates without any hum or noise with a nice set of 5751's. I'm using a Sony XL mc1 MC cartridge.
 

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