The new 2019 Bellari MT502 mu is a stereo, moving coil step up transformer that raises the low level of a moving coil cartridge up to a moving magnet level. Making your moving coil cartridge compatible with your phono preamp.
(From Stereophile Magazine) “The Bellari MT502 transformer: $499 Housed in Bellari’s familiar powder-coated red chassis, the MT502 step-up transformer features hand-wound coils, gold-plated inputs and outputs, and a ground lift. The MT502 produced a quiet background, sharp transients, and taut, fast, well-defined bass. A perfect match to Bellari’s VP130 moving-magnet phono preamp. (Vol.33 No.11)”
On Stereophile’s ‘Recommended Components’ list in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015… OK, you can see a pattern here.
The MT502 is all hand-built in the USA. The MT502 is as much art as it is sonic perfection.
Moving coil cartridges should be stepped up with transformers to get the best sound quality. The issue with almost all phono preamps that claim they are MM and MC compatible is that most are MM phono preamps that in the MC setting just boost the gain. This can create issues with sound quality. The fact of the matter is, MC cartridges need a transformer to be at their best. If you look at very high end systems, they all use step up transformers.
At Bellari we don’t just boost the gain of our phono preamps and then call them MC compatible. We build a proper step-up transformer the MT502 to truly make your MC cart sound the way it should.
With a selectable turns ratio you no longer need to match your cart with a step up transformer. The MT502 will match almost any cart with its selectable turns ratio switch. Its like having two step up transformers in one unit. The 12:1 is designed to work with carts like the Denon DL103 or 103R or similar. The 30:1 is designed to work with carts that need more gain/level.
The “mu” stands for Mu Metal as that is the new metal now encasing the 2019 MT502 transformers. MU Metal is one of the best shielding materials known. The new transformers are hand wound, potted, encased in MU Metal and then placed into a copper chassis that has been gold plated. This is all done one at a time, by hand.