Maximum Input Level (MC)
Maximum input level (MC) is the largest voltage a phono stage’s moving-coil input accepts before reaching its stated distortion or overload limit. Clipping distorts the signal’s peaks.
Usually quoted in millivolts (mV), this is different from input sensitivity: the input needed for a specified output. Maximum output level describes voltage leaving the stage.
Maximum Input Level (MC) — Phono Preamp
A larger limit lets the MC input handle stronger signals under the same conditions; it does not guarantee better sound. Compare figures at the same gain setting, test frequency and distortion limit, using the same units and voltage convention: RMS and peak values differ. A result at 1 kHz does not establish the limit at every frequency.
If those conditions are missing, the comparison is incomplete. Use the MC figure, not the MM limit. An overload margin in decibels (dB) describes a ratio to a reference level; without that reference, it is not an input voltage.
Sources
Sources
- Rega Aria MK3 manual — Rega
- RaneNote 145: Audio Specifications — Rane