RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Bill Way 07:05:33 09/19/23 (6)
 Manley Chinook - Bill Way 20:33:34 09/19/23 (0)
 RE: "If by "adding gain" you mean turning the volume up" ... - andyr 16:46:49 09/19/23 (3)

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 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Bill Way 07:05:33 09/19/23 (6)
 Manley Chinook - Bill Way 20:33:34 09/19/23 (0)
 RE: "If by "adding gain" you mean turning the volume up" ... - andyr 16:46:49 09/19/23 (3)
 RE: "If by "adding gain" you mean turning the volume up" ... - Tre' 19:34:00 09/19/23 (1)
 RE: You are absolutely correct! ... - andyr 20:45:21 09/19/23 (0)
 RE: "If by "adding gain" you mean turning the volume up" ... - Analog Bob 18:12:00 09/19/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Mister Pig 10:15:07 09/19/23 (0)
 Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ and III - ToddM 12:17:48 09/18/23 (1)
 RE: Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ and III - louie3 06:05:39 09/19/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - 2chblast 08:21:48 09/18/23 (0)
 RE: Yes ... - andyr 04:03:19 09/18/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - BCR 16:57:13 09/17/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Pyramid 15:20:27 09/17/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Ugly 14:31:32 09/17/23 (0)
 Hagerman Audio Labs - Cougar 08:20:31 09/17/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - John Elison 18:16:36 09/16/23 (3)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Mister Pig 22:45:36 09/17/23 (2)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - Mister Pig 22:50:47 09/17/23 (1)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - John Elison 03:13:51 09/18/23 (0)
 This one...-...- - Ozzy 15:59:31 09/16/23 (1)
 Tired of the... - Cougar 08:06:06 09/17/23 (0)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - afro18 10:19:30 09/16/23 (1)
 RE: MM Phono Stages With Gain Greater Than 40 dB - ecl876 14:23:42 09/16/23 (0)

• https://www.audioadvice.com/rega-fono-mm-mk5-phono-preamp

• https://aricaudio.com/products.php?product=TRMMPS

I wonder if perhaps your MC-2000 is past its prime and no longer a viable phono cartridge. Either that, or the T-2000 is damaged and no longer providing its rated 35-dB of gain. Since you're in the market for a new phono stage anyway, perhaps you should buy a moving coil phono stage with 75-dB of total gain and forget about using the T-2000 step-up transformer. That's what I decided to do years ago when I bought my Pass Labs XOno with its 75-dB of total phono gain. I actually prefer the sound of active phono stages rather than using step-up transformers.

I've never heard a step-up transformer that sounds better than a topnotch active phono stage, although I have heard SUTs that sound just as good. I was very impressed with the Bob's Devices CineMag 1131 SUT because it was the first SUT I'd heard that sounded as good as my Pass Labs XOno active phono stage. I tested it by connecting it to my XOno in its MM configuration and comparing that with my XOno by itself in its MC configuration. Bob's newer Sky SUTs are supposedly even better sounding than his original Blue Label CineMag 1131.

At any rate, if everything's working properly with your MC-2000 / T-2000 combo, a 40-dB phono stage should be more than sufficient.

Good luck!
John Elison

• https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/phono-box-rs2/

• SOTA Pyxi

• http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/phono-preamp/

Actually that does bring up a point I had not given full consideration.

I have two MC2000 cartridges. My first one suffered an accident in a Dynavector DV 505 arm I had. I was adjusting VTA and the arm wand popped out of the holder, it seems I bumped it and the magnetic lock was not strong enough. I bent a cantilever on the side of the record. It literally broke my heart, and I did not play vinyl for close to 6 months after that.

I was fortunate and was able to contact a person I knew who had one in excellent shape. When I got it I sent it to my cartridge guy along with the first MC2000. The OEM one got a new microridge diamond, as this was the best option I could achieve. The damaged one got a boron cantilever with the same diamond. That cartridge has become my casual one, and happened to be the one I listened to when i wrote this post. Now does the boron cantilever affect output level?I would not think so, but who knows?

This evening I put the OEM one on. They are both in Denon PCL-5 magnesium head shells, since they weigh only 6 grams. They have the same silver litz wire head shell leads.

These cartridges have a clarity to them that makes the volume level you listen to a bit misleading. I find I have my listening levels a bit higher than normal, or at least that is what the wife says. With the OEM cartridge I find that dynamic passages are more powerful, and the upper mids are a bit more robust. The boron cantilevered one is a bit peaky in comparison. It is still very good, and it is just fine for listening to rock and roll, or when I am at the computer. It allows me to keep the transformer in place and make easy swaps to the OEM one. So it has its place, but it still pains me that I lost such a remarkable cartridge.

The OEM one is one of my favorite cartridges, and it is amazing what was possible at that time period. I once thought about selling it because its so restrictive of arms, phono stages, and its a pain in the ass to ground. But when I listen to it, I am utterly charmed. I have a Verismo on a Schroder arm, and I enjoy it immensely, but if I only had the MC2000 I could be happy.

As far as the transformer goes, its a silver wire, I don't think I have ever heard of these failing.

• https://images.hifido.co.jp/07/021/02173/c.jpg

It seems clear to me that the OP wants a phono stage which has a higher (fixed!) gain than the standard 40dB ... so that the output level going into his preamp is higher than it is, currently.

For instance - his Ortofon MC 2000 has an absurdly low output of 0.05mV; using an Ortofon T2000 SUT (60x gain) this becomes 0.3mV - so the output from a 40dB MM phono stage will be 3mV.

Whereas if he had a 46dB MM phono stage ... the output would be 600mV.