In an ideal world, every Moving Coil cartridge would work flawlessly with every phono stage. Unfortunately, many of the world’s best Moving Coil cartridges have outputs too low for most phono stages to amplify properly. In order to ‘step-up’ these voltages to a level closer to what most MC phono stages would like to see, EAR has created the MC-4 Step-Up transformer. A low output MC audio signal enters one side and is output in one of four selectable voltages for greater compatibility with today’s phono stages.

Created by analog genius Tim DeParavicini, the MC-4 is designed by an audiophile for audiophiles. Built with the same attention to detail that made the EAR 834P phono stage world famous, the MC-4 has superb sound quality, is built like a tank and is flexible enough to accommodate even the most demanding cartridge load.

The key to the MC-4’s flexibility are the 4 input taps on the rear.  The MC-4 has four separate stereo inputs, all of which feed a single stereo output. This allows the user to configure the output of the MC-4 to offer the optimum voltage. Each input provides a different impedance, 3Ω, 6Ω, 12Ω, or 40Ω. These produce output of 30x, 24x, 18x or 10x input voltage, respectively.

Therefore, a 0.2mV cartridge would produce the following output voltage depending on the tap chosen:

3Ω=6.0mV

6Ω=4.8mV

12Ω=3.6mV

40Ω=2.0mV

Frequency Response 3Hz- 100KHz +0.2dB-1.0dB

Phase Linearity Less than ±5 degrees (20-20KHz)

Rise Time 2μSecs (any level)

Channel Balance Less than 0.1dB

Channel Separation Greater than 70dB (20-20KHz)

Hum Rejection Greater than 60dB

(External Magnetic Fields)

Equivalent Noise Contribution Less than 1dB

Voltage Gain X30, x24, x18, x10

Input Impedances (nominal) 3 ohm, 6 ohm, 12 ohm, & 40 ohm