Why using a step-up transformer?
Every active amplifier stage – regardless of whether it is designed with tubes or transistors – adds noise or background noise to the music signal. Thus, the quieter an MC pickup (i.e. the less output voltage it has), the more the signal has to be amplified. This makes the pickup, and with it the entire chain, much more susceptible to such interference.
A transformer increases the signal voltage of an MC pickup in a purely passive manner, i.e. without a power supply. It therefore has a clear advantage simply because of its functional principle. The signal thus runs through exactly ONE component and has to overcome significantly less contact resistance and capacitance. It therefore reaches the less critical MM input of the phono stage ‘undamaged’, leaving the distortion potential of an active electronic circuit behind.
However, in order for a transformer can actually work without faults and interference, a few adjustments and parameters must be observed:
- Housing mass;
- Shielding against interference;
- Encapsulation against microphony;
- Wiring, and
- Connector quality.
That is why we give these factors our full attention and accept no compromise in their implementation. The sum of all parts makes up the big picture. Or in simpler words: pure music.
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