Sooner or later, I'll get around to fitting my turntable with one of the two low output MC cartridges I have on hand. I plan to use a step-up transformer with my current RIAA preamp for the time being. I have several options for stepups - 1) Some Beyer1:15 mic transformers 2) Some 1:10 no-name wonders from Ebay 3) Some McGohan mic step-up transformers, 4) a clutch of Jensen JT115-K 1:10 mic step-up transformers. 5) Some Cinemag step-ups.
I've searched the analogue source forum, but haven't seen any mention of using the Jensen mic transformers as MC step-ups. Am I missing something?
I've searched the analogue source forum, but haven't seen any mention of using the Jensen mic transformers as MC step-ups. Am I missing something?
Looking at their website specifications it relatively flat in the 20Hz to 20KHz range , distortion does rise significantly below 20Hz and near it in relation to LF gain .
Depends what you listen to -- heavy metal fan ?-- although the ear is not so sensitive to LF distortion as it is in the middle band.
Depends what you listen to -- heavy metal fan ?-- although the ear is not so sensitive to LF distortion as it is in the middle band.
So, apparently no better or worse (maybe better) than any of the other transformers I have on hand. They're not hard to find at a good (read cheap) price - makes me wonder why this forum isn't absolutely riddled with instances of their use as an MC step-up.
BTW - with metal, how would you even notice any bass distortion?
BTW - with metal, how would you even notice any bass distortion?
primary winding dc resistance is 20 Ohm,
secondary winding dc resistance is 2500 Ohm,
noise-wise in series with MC cartridge there is 20+2500/10^2=45 Ohm
secondary winding dc resistance is 2500 Ohm,
noise-wise in series with MC cartridge there is 20+2500/10^2=45 Ohm
0.06 % distortion at 20 Hz and -20 dBu (77.46 mV RMS) when driven from a 150 ohm source. Both the signal level and the source impedance are much lower when driven by a low-output MC cartridge, so the distortion will be way lower than that 0.06 %, which is by itself small compared to the distortion of a typical record.