A friend of mine Had a MX117 while I had a C-29. He was using a 7200 amp and I was using DC-300'a's. I know for sure the 7200 was a better amp but that said I also know my C-29 was a big step up from my C-28 in the Phono section. In fact I preferred the c-29 phono section to that of my C-34. Now a MX117 falls in between the C-`34 and my C-29. I thought the MX 117 sounded great with my Friends TD 125 with a Grace F9E. Another friend using the same Grace model with the same arm and a C-28 just wasn't quite as good, it wasn't bad far from it, just not great!. And I much preferred the tone controls on the 117. That mid control was a real winner. So with all the permutations of possibilities I would choose the 117. That is unless you like bright phono cartridges from audio technica and clear audio. Then I would lean toward the C-28, which has a smoother softer phono section. My main turn off for the C-28 is the poor tracking volume control and the broad 4db steps of the tone controls. I much prefer the variable graphic controls of the 117 and C-34 and the precision tracking volume control. . If I have to use stepped tone controls, bass and treble, then give me one db steps. The main reason for having a mPI-4 and amps with meters was to insure proper balance between left and right channels on C-20, C-22 and 28. I do miss being able to adjust the tone controls of the channels individually, but once you get the volume balance issue corrected using the different tone controls isn't near as big an issue. I will say digital recordings whether CD's or down loaded off the internet are more consistent in tonal balance from left to right as compared to LP. .In fact its almost a non-issue.
