Phono stage for MC pickups

MC pickups

— pickups using a moving coil circuit — it is connected to a needle and during operation it oscillates relative to fixed magnets, due to which a signal current is created. Such pickups are said to be superior to MM cartridges in sound quality; at the same time, they are noticeably more complex and expensive. Moreover, the latter is also relevant for phono stages: they are difficult to design and require a high gain, since the output signal level of MC pickups is usually low — less than 0.5 mV (there are exceptions, but very rarely).