Michael Ulbrich from Consolidated Audio in Berlin built up a Step Up for my Ortofon Century 💯 cartridge bringing to blossom the abilities of this cart even much more.

my previous Ortofon SUT wasn’t really bad (had a ratio of about 1:16) but as you know in this field of precise matching you’ll never find an end of using opportunities. As we already know that Michael Ulbrich is a kind of genius in this kind of coiling up special transformators (here again up to a ratio of 1:24) it was a matter of time until I got convinced going into that direction.

So, what happened to the sound? It became more open, clearer, a bit more sharp (but not with a non- liking effect). It might be an impact of the silver wiring. As the diamond of the Century opens up into a wide panorama-like-sound the Consolidated Audio SUT emphasizes this even more. More dynamics, more pushing of the instruments. I will wait and see how the silver wiring will smooth down to the typical experience I had with my Kondo SUTs as well. As time goes by … this is a fantastic phono unit one should have and enjoy music – you may not compare it to a regular phono adjustment via MC.

Courtesy of Rolf Winter, image-hifi 1/2024, P. 78