A New/Old Way to Upgrade Your MC Low output MC cartridges send an output that's about a tenth the output of MM cartridges. This means they require a specialty phono preamp with more gain & different electrical parameters… unless you add a step-up transformer to prep the signal for your MM phono stage! The MC Step-Up Box S3 works very differently from a phono preamplifier. The windings ratio of the transformer determines the gain factor. As it's a passive device that doesn't require a power supply, no additional power can be produced. The increase in voltage is achieved through a corresponding decrease in current. As there is no amplification, the MC Step-Up Box S3 is remarkably low in noise & distortion with a lively, dynamic & natural sonic signature. Why Use a Step-Up Transformer? Once upon a time, step-up transformers were all but required for the optimal handling of a low output MC cartridge's signal. Active amplification technology was simply too noisy back then (defeating the purpose of the low output design). A step-up transformer removes active amplification from the equation & passively boosts the signal the old-fashioned way. Operating entirely apart from mains power, it's an opportunity to silently add 21 or 24dB, which amounts to an output that's comparable to MM cartridges (this is why a step-up transformer's output is connected to an MM phono preamp input). Needless to say, modern active amplification has improved by leaps & bounds. MC phono preamps can apply all the necessary gain without inducing excessive noise levels… yet there remains a niche population of critical listeners who continue to swear by the performance of the step-up transformer. It's just a different approach that, pending your low output cartridge and MM preamp, may be just what you're after! Designed & Handmade in Europe The Step-Up Box S3 is carefully designed and handmade in Europe. Our goal is to develop a technically flawless device in a housing that is only as big as neces