[jfrace]

Hello All,

I'm new and found the site as I purchased the Pickering XLZ-7500S MKII and was looking for information on it. I'm seeing people load the cartridge at about 1000 ohms and was contemplating getting the SUT that Pickering made for this cartridge and was looking to see if anyone used it or not.

I also saw a few threads were on here as well, so I figured I'd try to revive it for "updated" responses.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

[neobop]

Hi Jfrace, welcome to the monkey house.

The Pickering 7500 is identical to the Stanton 980LZ, which I have.  The 980 uses a D91 or D81 stylus and a Pickering D3000 through 7500 can be substituted.  The cart takes on the compliance of the stylus.  I think the stock 7500 was 25 or 30 cu, and the MKII designates a different stylus. 
The cart is a great tracker at 1.5g or slightly less, on med/low mass arms.

Going straight into a MC gain stage the cart has much better frequency response loaded at 1K -2K ohm.  This load helps correct a treble droop and the change is quite noticeable.  I would suggest this kind of termination.  I have no experience with a Pickering SUT, but due to loading requirements I would suggest a suitable high gain phono stage. You can get a Vista (plug-in resistor loading) for $300, or many higher priced ones will accommodate.  The Vista sounds good with the cart, having nice synergy. 
neo

[jfrace]

Neo,

Thanks for the response. Is the "Vista" the actual name of the phono pre? I'm still somewhat new to different phono pre's so sorry if the question seems basic.

[neobop]

Vista is the name of the company.  The phono stage is called Phono 1 Mk II.  Here it is:
http://www.vista-audio.com/

You plug in resistors to set gain and load.  Up to 70dB of gain and you order it with any capacitance you want.  I suggest 75 - 100pF - in case you want to use conventional MMs.  Seems a hair quieter with that capacitance (75-100), as opposed to no capacitance.

The Vista is a neutral sounding phono.  Don't expect lush, romantic, or closed in or sterile.  It seems to sound  like the record and does a pretty good job of imparting that.  Coincidentally, I've been using the Vista for the past few months with my 980LZ.  I have it loaded for 60dB gain and 1200 ohms. 

If you need resistors I suggest these:
http://www.goldpt.com/r_series.html

KOA Speer  MF series or IRC RC55.  I have some of each and you can't go wrong with either.  Maybe Boris at Vista has some appropriate values for your 7500, to get you started.  Let us know how it works out.
neo

[jfrace]

Neo,

Thank you very much for the information. I will look into it and let you know how it works out for me.

Jim