In my position, which $500-$800 cartridge would you buy?

Mr. Lin

Mr. Lin

Lunatic Member
I'm about to upgrade the cartridge on my Pro-Ject RM-5 turntable, which has already seen a Dynavector 10X5 and, very briefly, my Grado Silver. I know this sort of thing is subjective, but I like to talk cartridges, and I value many of your opinions, so I'd love to hear any suggestions or thoughts.

Long story short, I was planning on buying a Grado Master, but, on the recommendation of a fellow AK member, I tried my Silver on the Pro-Ject to test for the infamous "Grado Hum," and sadly, the hum was there. I can't justify spending that much on a cartridge if I'm going to have to live with hum.

Here are some other options I'm considering. Keep in mind I have a Wright 200C tube phono preamp capable of handling low output cartridges all the way down to about .4mV, but no lower or I'll need to get a step up device.

- Shelter 501 II: All the reviews suggest that this is a great cartridge. At .5mV it's at the bottom end of what my preamp can handle, but it should be ok. $800

- Benz Micro Glider: We all know about this one, and I've had my eye on it for a long time. The .8mV medium output would work just fine for me, and the price isn't too bad. ~$700

- Dynavector Karat 17D3: This is the one I honestly want more than anything else, but there are two problems. First, the output is barely .3mV, so I'd have to spend at least another $300 on a step up transformer. Also, this one's already pretty pricey at around $900.

- Clearudio Maestro Wood: I'm sort of torn about this one. It's very attractive, the reviews are more than a little intriguing, and I'm confident it would be a great cartridge overall. But I'm wondering if I should jump right into an expensive MM cartridge before even trying a LOMC cartridge. Anyone heard one?

- Koetsu Black: Yeah I wish.:D

Ok, those are currently the front runners. By all means feel free to make alternate recommendations, or vote for one of the above. This is very important as it's going to be the last major cartridge upgrade I'll be able to afford for a while, so all advice is welcome.

Dave
 
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robinje said:
How about a Lyra Dorian (0.6mV) at around $725?
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Hello Dave, Robin brought up a worthy choice to consider, most have nothing but very high praise for the Lyra Cartridges. But, I have read a couple of comments about Stylus' falling out of the Cantilever, you might want to research that a bit. Always the possibility too, of incorrect Stylus Cleaners, and/or methods to clean Stylus? One screws up, and then possibly blames the Manufacturer for thier ignorant errors?

The Benz Glider is a worthy choice, worth serious consideration, and the Sumiko Blackbird (2.5mv) and the Dynavector DV-20XH (2.8mv) might be a couple of others.

Best bet, is definitely do your homework, so you will hopefully make the wisest choice, search around in all the various forum's archives for more info on what you wish to study, and lastly, most definitely don;t settle for one price from one dealer, call around!

With Benz, and even other Cartridges, there is even further discount by just making a simple 1-800 call to inquire. A few minutes of your time just may save you additional $$$, and I would call places like MusicDirect, Elusive Disc, Needle Doctor, Acoustic Sounds, Musical Surroundings. With Benz, there may even be decent trade value with another dead Cartridge you have laying around. Never hurts to ask.

Before I close this letter, do you know offhand exactly what gain, and Loading Settings are at your disposal with this Phono Stage? This may help others recommend a good compatible choice.

I would like adding that I think you have a good thought pattern working here (Perhaps willing to go the extra few $100, and at, or above $1K). There's always that possibility that in the future, you may get another case of "upgraditis", and perhaps wishing to improve the Phono Stage-Cabling-Table, or mods to the Table, etc. At least the Cartridge will then be worthy of these improvements thus offering even better sound than previously.
Mark
 
Mr. Lin said:
I'm about to upgrade the cartridge on my Pro-Ject RM-5 turntable, which has already seen a Dynavector 10X5 and, very briefly, my Grado Silver. I know this sort of thing is subjective, but I like to talk cartridges, and I value many of your opinions, so I'd love to hear any suggestions or thoughts.

Long story short, I was planning on buying a Grado Master, but, on the recommendation of a fellow AK member, I tried my Silver on the Pro-Ject to test for the infamous "Grado Hum," and sadly, the hum was there. I can't justify spending that much on a cartridge if I'm going to have to live with hum.


Dave
Click to expand...

Glad I suggested that Dave sorry your back searching but better the search continues then you end up with a very expensive hummer!

I'm about to try out a Goldring Eroica H ($450.00 new) I'm buying from an AK member with about 15 hours on it (his preamp did not have enough gain for the 2.5mV HO MC cart) I'll have it on my RM-5 in the next couple days and will be giving it one hell of a run for it's money through the weekend. I'll be sure and post my thoughts and feelings Though I'm a piss poor Audiospeak artist I'll try to convey what I think of that cart. Might help you.

I'm also very interested in hearing a 10-5 on a RM-5 one day.
 
You have shortlisted, again! :), three of my top choices for cartridge in that price range:
Dynavector Karat 17D3
Shelter 501 II
Clearaudio Maestro Wood

All are really amazing cartridges. This is the range where the comprimises start getting minimized and truly great music starts to happen.

The Dynavector Karat will give you everything you love about your 10X5, but just better smoother and MORE! Wonderful cartridge. Wish my wallet would stretch that far.

The Shelter I have spent the least amount of time listening to, but what I have heard has been very, very nice.

The Clearaudio Maestro I have spent the most amount of time listening to (on a very sweet Pro-Ject RM 10), and I could easily spend years and years listening to it. Maybe the finest MM ever?

Any one of these you could mount on a much higher quality TT than what you have now and still be happy.

Benz? Never heard one that I have loved yet.
 
Mark,
I think in the end it's all for the better. Thanks for the suggestion, because I had sort of forgotten I needed to do the Grado hum test in all the excitement of thinking about the Master. But of course there's a world of very attractive options out there. BTW I've heard an older version of the Eroica on a friend's old Dual table and was quite impressed, so let us know how that turns out.

Erik, we do indeed have similar tastes. I want that Dynavector in a bad way, but I think it might be too much of a hassle this time - maybe in the future. To be honest with you, at the moment the one I can't get off my mind is the Clearaudio Maestro. Aside from the good reputation, and good looks, it also has the added benefit of being something sort of different. How many people have a MM cartridge in the $1k range? The way I look at it, I'll have something more to contribute to AK from my experiences with a somewhat unusual cartridge.

In any case, I have about a month to decide, and that's a lot of time to think. Thanks for all your thoughts, and I hope to hear more. Now it's time for bed.
 
markd51 said:
Hello Dave, Robin brought up a worthy choice to consider, most have nothing but very high praise for the Lyra Cartridges. But, I have read a couple of comments about Stylus' falling out of the Cantilever, you might want to research that a bit. Always the possibility too, of incorrect Stylus Cleaners, and/or methods to clean Stylus? One screws up, and then possibly blames the Manufacturer for thier ignorant errors?

The Benz Glider is a worthy choice, worth serious consideration, and the Sumiko Blackbird (2.5mv) and the Dynavector DV-20XH (2.8mv) might be a couple of others.

Best bet, is definitely do your homework, so you will hopefully make the wisest choice, search around in all the various forum's archives for more info on what you wish to study, and lastly, most definitely don;t settle for one price from one dealer, call around!

With Benz, and even other Cartridges, there is even further discount by just making a simple 1-800 call to inquire. A few minutes of your time just may save you additional $$$, and I would call places like MusicDirect, Elusive Disc, Needle Doctor, Acoustic Sounds, Musical Surroundings. With Benz, there may even be decent trade value with another dead Cartridge you have laying around. Never hurts to ask.

Before I close this letter, do you know offhand exactly what gain, and Loading Settings are at your disposal with this Phono Stage? This may help others recommend a good compatible choice.

I would like adding that I think you have a good thought pattern working here (Perhaps willing to go the extra few $100, and at, or above $1K). There's always that possibility that in the future, you may get another case of "upgraditis", and perhaps wishing to improve the Phono Stage-Cabling-Table, or mods to the Table, etc. At least the Cartridge will then be worthy of these improvements thus offering even better sound than previously.
Mark
Click to expand...

Also, to both of you about the Lyra, that's one that I almost put on the list, but I was worried the list was starting to get too long and would lose people's interest. It's within the realm of possibilities, but I swear I read something on AK about Lyras being a bad match for Pro-Ject tables, but that could be unfounded.
 
Not to get off to the side to far here Dave. But the Eroica H I'm getting was actually the cartridge chosen by MMF to be the stock cart on the MMF-7.1 and since the 7.1 and RM-5 have the same arm I assume I should find a very good match. Unless MMF is in the habit of providing a less then great cart on their $1395.00 Combo!

If you decide to let that 10-5 sit around later this summer you might give me a ring we could talk about it.
 
then you end up with a very expensive hummer!
Click to expand...
Yeah-lemme tell you about my ex-wife....:naughty:

Seriously , I'm following this with much interest , as tax/upgrade time approaches. I'm leaning towards a new integrated amp (bel canto) and a new cartridge. I'm currently using the Goldring 1022GX that came with my TT. Since my TT has the same arm as a mmf7 , would any of the (high output MC or MM) recommendations apply to me?
 
Mr. Lin (and others reading this thread),

More than a year ago, I communicated with Grado -- one of my questions at the time concerned stylus cleaners. Their recommendation is NEVER use stylus cleaners on Grados.

Mr. Lin, sorry to hear about the Grado hum on your Project. I was looking forward to hearing your evaluation of the Grado Master. I continue to be puzzled as to why some Grados hum on some Projects and not others. I've never had a hum problem with my Grado Platinum on my XPression 1.2

Bob
 
The Shelter is good but I'd choose either Benz or Dyna before it. I'd go with the Benz before the Dyna only because of the added cost....otherwise it's probably just a matter of system/preferences. I haven't heard the Clearaudio although I'd like to. The reviews are good.

You might want to think about becoming an AK subscriber.
 
I have a Sumiko BPS EVO III and I love it and really want a Blackbird for my next cartridge.
 
My thoughts on some of the carts

Dyna 20XH skip it.

Eroica Not in the same league as the others considered here

Glider Excellent cart in either Hi or low output. Have not heard the med output yet.

Karat I have not heard

Clear audio Maestro I have not heard but I do own the CA Ebony wood body MM cart which is the next in line down. It is a very nice cart. Very forgiving on which phono. Mine is still in the break in stage so its hard to say much more for now.

I have found most Shelters to be to analytical for my taste.
 
grumpy said:
Dyna 20XH skip it.
Click to expand...


Now now Grumpy- don't be dissin' my cart!!!

The problem with recommending cartridges is they are so system dependent. Mr. Grumpy and I couldn't get decent sound from the 20XH in several systems, yet the same cart sounds quite nice on a Rega P-25 through a Black Cube.

I am a Benz fan. Currently use an H2. When setting up different analog systems for others or at shows, I feel the Silver always sounds at least decent, very system independent, and therefore a safe bet. I like the fact that all Benz carts have certain tonal qualities and sound- just more better as you go up in the line. If the Benz has a sound you like, you can't go wrong moving up the scale. They also, IMHO, have a great price/performance ratio.

Am familiar with the lower Clearaudio carts, and found that they can perform well above their price class. Didn't feel the same way about their higher priced spreads though. But that is a personal opinion.

Good luck, and keep us updated on your quest.

reyneman
 
cason said:
Mr. Lin (and others reading this thread),

More than a year ago, I communicated with Grado -- one of my questions at the time concerned stylus cleaners. Their recommendation is NEVER use stylus cleaners on Grados.


Bob
Click to expand...

Even Mr Clean Magic Eraser??!!

I appreciate all the input everybody. It's not making this any easier, but I don't care because I'd rather see what everyone has to say. Many people leaning toward Benz, and if you saw my thread from last night about my brand new Benz MC20E2, you know I'm quite impressed with it. And that's the bottom of the barrel for Benz (and MC), plus it hardly has 8 hours on it.

But I'm still undecided.

I have to say at the moment I can't stop thinking about the Clearaudio Maestro. I'm visualizing it in my system, and it just feels right. Not sure yet, but right now it's in the lead by a fair margin. Based on everything I've heard and read it seems like a very safe bet.

I don't think I'd be disappointed with any of these, but obviously it's still not going to be an easy decision when one is preparing to make a major upgrade like this for the first time. At the moment the best I've ever heard is my Dynavector 10X5, and I love it, but I know there's a whole lot more out there.

If anyone knows anything about Lyra I'm still interested in hearing about it. Grumpy I hope you'll let us know how your Clearaudio develops. If you think yours is a great cartridge, that encourages me even more to spring for the Maestro.
 
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