Loudness in a turntable

[Hiendenthusiast]

Can anyone tell me what determines the loudness on a turntable, have an old Philips with a cheap pick up , sounds very loud and clear , have another turntable Micro Zeiki , very beautiful with super S ortofon sounds very low, does anyone knows why?????

[HES]

Probably because the cheap cartridge is a MM (Moving magnet) type and the Ortofon is a MC (Moving coil) type. The MC cartridge needs a higher amplification, while the output is in the range of 0.5 mV, the MM has typical 2.5-5 mV output. You need a phono stage with possibility to connect MC cartridge.

[Hiendenthusiast]

Although i already wrote to thank you for the answer, now that i red it again  i am puzzled , the turntable that i am talking about about has MC Cartridge connected to so in essense i find your advice a little confusing , someone suggested i should add a pre-phono amp to it , what do you mean exactly by "phono Stage"? thanks for your patience, cheers JUlian

[HES]

I mean
Your phono stage is only for MM cartridge, and the Ortofon is a MC, which needs a higher amplification than the MM does.
So to runn the Ortofon properly you need a phono stage which also can take the MC type, OR a step-up transformer between your existing phono stage and the Ortofon.
Sorry if I was a little unclear.

[Hiendenthusiast]

Lets forget about the old turntable Philips with MM cartridge.

All i want to know is about my Micro seiki MB18 wich has an Ortofon pick up  OM PRO S, that the sound level is low, from what i understand i have to buy a step up transformer , is that the actual name ?, or can it also be a power booster to connect between the turntalble and the Amplifier?
Thanks Julian

[Boye]

The Ortofon OM PRO is an MM type, so I wonder if your amplifier has the right input with the necessary phono stage or RIAA amplifier. This input is typically named "Phono" or "Turntable". Compared to the other inputs, called line inputs (often named "CD", "Tape", "Tuner", "Aux" ...), this input has a higher gain as well as a frequency correction that boosts the lower frequencies to compensate for the way records are produced. (To put it simply).

[HES]

My mistake thought you ment the super S was a MC, Boye is right the OM is a MM, so it should go in any phono connection. But it can be lower in output than your old Philips, tune up your volumen

Output voltage at 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec.

5 mV

Ortofon data: http://www.ortofon.com/html/profile.asp