not ready for the $5,000 refurbish for my Koetsu Onyx sage advice for new MC cartridge for SME 309 tonearm?

Oh, I agree. I’ve got carts from the hundreds of dollars up to about 8 or 9K. I was just observing that this is the classic response to any audiophile “recommendation” question - if 12 audiophiles respond, there will be 16 different recommendations. :smile:

Sumiko Starling. Right in the middle of your price target. Good, healthy 0.5 mV output. Tracks like a champ. Neutral overall. Yes, I’ve used it with a SME 309 mounted on my SOTA Nova V vacuum. Pay attention to careful setup (especially VTA) and it will sing with your SME tonearm. Like all of Sumiko’…

These cartridges have a spacious and deep stage. I think the body design makes it a bit easier for setup and his thumb screws he designed help this too. Margins on cartridges are notoriously dealer rich so you can shop and get a great discount too.

True, but anything that keeps the analog dialog flowing is good by me🙂 Always nice to hear about user experiences and recommendations that can benefit others who may be the market aside from the OP

My dealer spoke very highly of the DV XX2. Since I saved a few bucks (quite a few actually) by getting a used power supply and arm board, I decided to go with another DV TKR. A great cartridge but about double the OP’s budget.

well, the verdict… [image] The Day Has Come Everything Else For five immersive months I have delved into the matters of streamed music – from streaming services to DACs to cables, but only read about fuses. Sonos and Spotify no more. A new world had arrived. Impressive d…

My Le Son LS10 MkII cartridge arrived yesterday. Postage door to door (China to Australia) took 16 days. Tracking information was excellent. It was well packed and seems to have survived the journey. No frequency plot for the cartridge was supplied. My TT guru gets back from Munich on June 6 so…

Great news! Give us your impressions once you’ve got it singing.

Hi all. Just reporting on my Le Son LS10 MkII cartridge… The manufacturer recommends a 30hr break-in period. I’m around 1/2 way through and it gets better with every listen. The cartridge it replaced (Soundsmith ‘The Voice’ moving iron) has a more sophisticated cantilever and stylus profile and …

thank you your description of air around instruments is analogous to my description of performer spaces, ie position as well as immediately surrounding space looking forward to your burn-in progress

MC Cartridge Advice, $1-2K zone

Audio Components Vinyl

akro May 27, 2023, 2:35pm 42

well, the verdict…

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MC Cartridge Advice, $1-2K zone

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