Some cartridge manufacturers specify the DC resistance a transformer suitable for their system should have, others only state the required load impedance for MC inputs. Markus Wierl uses this information as a guide, but also takes into account the impedance of the MM input and the transformation ratio of the transformer. On one of his advice pages, he also provides interested readers with calculators for the matching resistors that may be necessary. I have to admit that, as a lover of MC phono stages, I have not familiarized myself with the subject and have relied on the recommendations of Audio-Freak. However, I once removed the resistor plugs for the SPU to have better access to the ground terminal, but forgot to plug them back in: At first, my co-listener, who is also a hi-fi enthusiast, and I were impressed by the sudden increase in volume and the slightly greater immediacy of the reproduction. After two or three re-plugs, we agreed – after some disagreement in the meantime – that the sonic outcome with the plugs was tonally more balanced and offered more spatial information despite the somewhat more muted high-frequency range. Therefore, I will continue to rely on Markus Wierl's tips.

With rather mixed feelings, I then connected the tonearm cable of the Thales Simplicity II, in which the Lyra Olympos SL was mounted, to the inputs of the SUT-1L. My friend had again chosen Carla Bley's ‘Life Goes On’ to assess the capabilities of the MK Analogue gear. To our great surprise, we were reminded of the extremely positive experiences with this track when played through the darTZeel NHB-108: The grand piano's notes had weight and seemed to be more intensely related to each other than usual on this familiar record. The airiness, dynamics and energy of Steve Swallow's special electric bass drew us irresistibly into their spell. Had we perhaps listened to the record as a file at the time and was much of our enthusiasm related to the vinyl and the Olympos SL? Not at all, unfortunately – at least for me – the track lost some of its fascination when Einstein's The Turntable's Choice took over the equalization and preamplification tasks. The sound was now less rich, the notes no longer stood in the room as if carved in stone and seemed somehow lighter. Nevertheless, the recording room did not seem any larger than the one suggested by the MK Analogue combo.

Since I had never missed the slightest thing with the Einstein equalizer, even when testing much more expensive phono stages, I suspected that the Slovenian duo might have been operating on the slightly euphonic side with a little more richness in the low-frequencies. But the slight opulence of the timbres masked neither subtle spatial information nor the most delicate details. I still couldn't find a starting point for any criticism. But since a powerful bass often makes the rendered music seem a touch more sedate, I set out to try Jonas Hellborg's Elegant Punk: The MK Analogue duo delivered a powerful low-frequency range, as I know it from the best purely electronic phono pre-pres. At first, I thought I was missing a touch of attack, but after turning the volume control slightly to the right, this proved to be a false impression. The MK combination offered at least as much information about the virtual space as Einstein’s counterpart. There was not the slightest hint of nervousness in the sound, despite the excessive use of this record having increased the level of background noise over the years. I got the impression that the tones here build up more solidity than with the Einstein. With ‘It's The Pits, Slight Return’, the MK Analogue combo impresses with plenty of speed and excellent transparency. The almost monolithic, precisely defined sound shows not the slightest shred of unwanted lingering. The MK duo combines power, attack and great clarity in the finest way. Further attempts to carve out a weakness in the performance of SUT-1L and MM-PH-AMP proved to be unsuccessful as well. Whether I like it or not, the MK Analogue gear is toppling my previous undisputed reference, which has been unchallenged for years.