A New/Old Way to Upgrade Your MC Low output MC cartridges send an output that's about a tenth the output of MM cartridges. This means they require a specialty phono preamp with more gain & different electrical parameters… unless you add a step-up transformer to prep the signal for your MM phono stage! The MC Step-Up Box DS3 B works very differently from a phono preamplifier. The windings ratio of the transformer determines the gain factor. As it's a passive device that doesn't require a power supply, no additional power can be produced. The increase in voltage is achieved by a corresponding decrease in current. As there is no amplification, the MC Step-Up Box DS3 B is remarkably low in noise & distortion with a lively, dynamic & natural sonic signature. Lundahl LL 1678 Transformer – Balanced Capability For the MC Step Up Box DS3 B we use high quality Lundahl LL 1678 audio transformers to ensure that all musical detail passes through. You can set the transformer ratio with a push of a button on the back panel. Use single-ended RCA or go balanced with the XLR input & output to benefit from low-noise, interference-free signal transmission. Select the input & output with the buttons on the front. Additionally you can adjust the gain level at 24 or 30dB. Why Use a Step-Up Transformer? Once upon a time, step-up transformers were all but required for the optimal handling of a low output MC cartridge's signal. Active amplification technology was simply too noisy back then (defeating the purpose of the low output design). A step-up transformer removes active amplification from the equation & passively boosts the signal the old-fashioned way. Operating entirely apart from mains power, it's an opportunity to silently add 24 or 30dB, which amounts to an output that's comparable to MM cartridges (this is why a step-up transformer's output is connected to an MM phono preamp input). Needless to say, modern active amplification has improved by leaps & bounds. MC phono preamps c