Select a Lundahl transformer for a specific cartridge

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Select a Lundahl transformer for a specific cartridge
This table takes into account, the primary and secondary wire resistance of the transformer, the damping resistor (if used), and provides the actual voltage to a phono amplifier with 47k impedance.

Green box: The signal is in the ideal range.
Empty box: The signal is too high or too low.
Blue box: The signal is in the ideal range, at the high end

Damping is always done at the secondary side. Please note, damping also changes the load on the cartridge. For this, we provide five such tables, with damping from 'very soft' to 'very hard'.

For building the transformers in it's own box, PCBs EE50 and EE51 are used. PCBs EE20 and EE21 are used to build the transformers into existing amplifiers.

Very Soft damping - Soft damping - Medium damping - Hard damping - Very hard damping

Click here for more info on damping.

In case your cartridge is not listed, we probably can add it. Please contact us if needed.

Here are some examples, considering the choices.

Denon DL103. One of the most popular cartridges ever. LL1678 would be possible to use 1:16, it gives 3.9mV. Using 1:32 setting would give a theoretical 8.8mV, but it doesn't work well, otherwise this box would have been blue. The 8.8mV will not appear, because load on the cartridge would be too high. Also it will give high frequency loss, and signal loss. That is why 1:32 is not possible So LL1678 makes only sense for DL103 when you already have a pair, and you want to try if it works perhaps. A better choice is the LL9226-XL transformer and set it for 1:20. As you can see in the table, LL9226-XL gives a nice 4.4mV, which is very good, and cartridge load is optimized, as with all green boxes.
Fidelity Research FR-1 Mk3F. In the table, it has a blue box with LL1678 and 1:16. If your pre amplifier is too noisy, this by itself is the real problem. It may be solved however by choosing this blue box, and get 7.4mV signal. However there is some risk, because when it appears wrong, there is no green box setting. The official, recommended use for this cartridge is 1:10 with the transformer LL9226-XL This gives even 4.8mV which is even a very good value. So here, the recommended choice is LL9226-XL. Or, use LL1678 which has higher needle damping as intended for the cartridge.
Benz Wood M2. It has only a blue box, and it is the only option anyway for this curious cartridge. Using a blue box means the damping may be higher as expected. From our side, we can only say it is a little bit risky to have only a blue box. Ask at Benz company if they advise this.
Benz Micro Reference S Copper. This is a nice one for noisy pre amplifiers. In that case use the LL1678, and try it for 1:32. Though 32x gain is quite a load for the cartridge, it can take this because impedance is an incredible low 5Ohms. Even so, minimum load is low, with 40 Ohms. This is why the blue box is highlighted. In case some high frequency is lost, you can still go for the green box and get 4mV, which is a nice value. Some other brand cartridges give only 3.2mV and these are also good.