(25-11-2016, 06:49 PM)ppppenguin Wrote: For a moving coil cartridge it's almost impossible without a transformer. Quad and others got good results with moving magnet cartridges such as the Shure M75 series mentioend above. Having said that, a Shure M75 of any kind isn't the ideal thing to stick in a SP25 whose pickup arm isn't good enough for the cartridge. Depends a bit on the stylus. A 75ED would be hopeless, a 75EJ might be OK. For a magnetic cartridge in a SP25 think about a Shure M44 or a Goldring G800.
Just go solid state, you know it makes sense.
The standard fitment in later Garrard decks was the basic Shure M75-6S. An M75EJ is a no-no but an M44 should be okay. Similarly, a Goldring G800 would be a little close to the edge, the G850 was more suited to the SP25.
I'd also add that the arm on a Mk. 2 SP25 is little better than most of the arms they were fitting to their contemporary autochangers at the time; it's the same as the arm on an AT6. A better solution would be a Sonotone 9TA/HC ceramic cartridge worked in 'velocity' mode with a suitable equaliser. The 9TA/HC is one of the best ceramic cartridges ever made.
If you wish to use a pentode, I'd recommend - assuming a 6.3V supply is available in a 'gram using 4V valves - a Brimar 6BS7. Designed for microphone amplifiers and cheap. http://www.r-type.org/exhib/aab0164.htm
