I have both a 1019 (refurbished by Doctor Dual in Ontario, Canada) and a 1219 (refurbished by our own
@NoTransistors). Both are equipped with a Shure M97xE. The 1019 has some nice, thick 1-meter interconnects installed by Doctor Dual (brand unknown) and the 1219 has a pair of 1-meter Audioquest Evergreens. Both are installed in German Dual bases.
I decided tonight to do some comparative listening between the two models. I would say that my 1219 images better and is overall more open sounding. The 1019 is slightly more closed-in and has a thicker presentation. Both have comparable PRaT and slam. My 1019 is very slightly quieter than the 1219 (which may be wear-related), and the 1019 also weighs more and feels more substantial than the 1219.
Both are excellent and tons of fun.
If you put a gun to my head and said "pick one," the choice would be difficult. I love them both for different reasons. The 1219 does have more of a "hifi" sound than the 1019 though. It's not that far behind my TD-124/SME 3009, believe it or not, and the 1219 arm loves that M97xE.
