Eros 2: Optimal with which cartridges/turntables?

[rsmiii]

Overall question: if you want the Eros 2 to be central, most important part of your home stereo audio system – what are the considerations for picking the best turntable / cartridge combination to sound best with the Eros 2?

From the Bottlehead product information, I gather that for moving magnet (MM) cartridges, Eros 2 will be fine with any stylus output level down to 2.5 mV.
I presently have a U-Turn Special Turntable with an Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge (Output voltage @ 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec. = 5.5 mV) so I guess I'm okay.

Eros 2 does not appear to have adjustable input impedance choices, and does not appear to have adjustable gain settings.
Eros 2 appears to have a flat 50db gain, and input impedance appears to be a flat 47 kilohms.

So: when choosing a turntable / cartridge to show off your new Eros 2, what product attributes does one look for?

[galyons]

You can have any impedance and/or capacitance loading you want or need. Just change the 47K resistors and/or add capacitors.  That is the advantage of DIY.  Want LOMC? Add a pre-preamp or SUT.  i have successfully  run cartridges from 0.014mV to 5mV with my Eros.  The Eros has no limitations in regards to turntables and arms.

Cheers,
Geary

[Paul Birkeland]

Eros 2 does not appear to have adjustable input impedance choices,

You could absolutely install whatever input resistors you'd like, though we would suggest 47K for 99.5% of all applications.

and does not appear to have adjustable gain settings.

Typically when you find a phono preamp with adjustable input impedance and adjustable gain it is in an effort to provide proper performance for both MC and MM cartridges.  The Eros accomplishes this by having a couple of holes on the chassis where you can add step-up transformers for moving coil cartridges.  This can give you another 20-25dB of gain and a much lower input impedance for moving coil cartridges, but only if you need it. 

[Karl5150]

That turntable and cart will no doubt work well with the Eros. (I have a DIY/Rega TT with a 2M Red that I have sometimes used with the original Eros to great satisfaction.) If you want more resolution, stepping up to the 2M Blue stylus when it is time to replace the original stylus is an easy, cost-effective upgrade. The Red and Blue cartridge bodies/'motors' are identical except for the color.
Karl

[rsmiii]

Reassuring information – thank you Geary, Paul, and Karl.
Interesting – I'll look into the Ortofon 2M Blue to replace the Red, when the time comes.

[CrowDaddy]

I just upgraded from a Stanton 681eee ( almost 50 yrs old), which sounded great with a new LP Gear Vivid stylus, to the new Ortofon 2M Black LVB, which is superb through my Eros2.  The Analog Productions 45-rpm reissue of Masterpieces by Ellington was astonishing in its clarity and presence.  This is an MM cartridge which equals or betters many MCs, with no need for the cost or hassle of SUTs.

By the way Paul, what about capacitive loading of MMS?  How useful is it, and what is the input capacitance of the Eros2?

[Paul Joppa]

Eros input capacitance is quite low - maybe 10-15pF? - because it a pentode first stage. It will be dominated by the cable capacitance (including the capacitance of the tonearm wiring).

Usually cartridge manufacturers will recommend a capacitance and resistance that gives the flattest response. Usually that means optimal damping of the high-frequency resonance. Some prefer the sound of different values, usually lower capacitance for MM or lower resistance for MC; it remains unclear to me whether this effect is due to changes in the frequency response or changes in distortion.