[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Pete, doesn’t your C40 preamp have a MM phono stage? If so, why not buy a step-up transformer to feed an MC cartridge to the C40 phono stage? For the same price or less as the Pro-Ject, you could buy something like the Ortofon ST-7 step-up. The combination of Mac MM phono stage and a good step-up would probably beat the standalone Pro-ject.

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Tony....these are certainly valid points, points that perhaps I need to be reminded of. Yes, the C40 preamp has a MM input, and the phono stage is, in fact very good. I've heard nothing but good things about it from other C40 owners.

For many, many years I was using an Ortofon MC10 Moving coil cartridge, together with an Ortofon STM-72 Step up transformer. I eventually had issues with the STM-72, mainly due to the close spacing of the RCA jacks. I started having intermittent channel drop outs, and excessive hum. Its output cable and plugs were very cheap, as were the input jacks. I decided it was time to think of a new cartridge-after all, I had used this combo for 34 years!

So, I opted for the Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge. I figured their top MM of today may best the MC10 of yesteryear. However, once in place, excessive hum issues remained. So, I recapped the phono stage of my C40. Weirdly, at first this didn't seem to help, but after a time it improved to the point that it is no longer an issue. I really can'y explain that turn of events, but the hum from the C40 phono stage is well within acceptable limits, and it sounds great. As to the sound of the 2M Black, it is very, very good; perhaps better than my old MC10.

So, the option of something like the ST-7 could certainly be on the table. In fact, I have looked into this in the past. Then I started looking at the McIntosh MP100-certainly a nice unit but it is $2,000.

The pros of the ST-7 are:

1) It is small, occupying less real estate than the Pro-ject unit.

2) It is less expensive than the Pro-Ject unit, though not by much.

3) Due to its small size, it can be stashed in a number of places, likely saving me the cost of an additional interconnect.

4) It is made by Ortofon, a company I do have confidence in.

Possible caveats of the ST-7:

1) It is very basic, perhaps not lending itself to a variety of cartridges.

2) In reading the literature on the ST-7, it seems geared toward the Quintet series of MC's; I'm not sure how well suited it will be to the Cadenza series. This may not be an issue at all.

Pros of the Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2:

1) It is very flexible, allowing cartridge matching adjustments to be made at the front panel, "on the fly".

2) It is a pretty attractive unit. I do like its looks.

3) I have to confess I'm intrigued by its tube output stage.

Cons of the Pro-Ject unit:

1) It's a little big, right at the limit of how much real estate I'd be willing to sacrifice atop the platform where my turntable resides. I'd have to relocate my Bryston BUC-1 to accommodate it, but this isn't a big problem.

2) While I have a spare WireWorld 1.5M Silver Eclipse interconnect, it's not quite long enough to reach from the proposed location next to my TT to my C40's phono/aux input. So, the cost of a WW 2.0M Silver Eclipse interconnect must be figured into the project cost.

To your point that the ST-7 coupled with my C40's phono stage may outperform the standalone Pro-ject unit-you could be right! But I have no way of knowing since I have have not heard the Pro-Ject unit. But, I've seen a good number of very favorable reviews. The tube output coupled with the SS preamp might be a winning combo.

I still haven't entirely ruled out the McIntosh MP100. But this opens up issues of cost, placement, and additional cabling (also more cost).

Incidentally, I just spotted a vintage Ortofon STM-72 matching transformer on Cabuck that has been upgraded with gold plated RCA jacks and upgraded output cables....