Cartridge for Symphonic music .

Dear @schubert : Today Nagaoka or Ortofon 2M Black does a great job for you.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

GLANZ MFG-51L w/ tapered aluminium cantilever and GLANZ MFG-610LX w/ boron cantilever, latter hard to find thou... both outperform certain AT top dogs on, say Telarc Digital cannons. Can´t be bad for the most complicated and demanded music recorded on vinyl right ?

chactster, I used Pickering X-3000 for about 5 years till they shut down ,THE best I ever had !How could you get one today ??

I will recommend two cartridges in your budget, but neither are a good match for your turntable and tonearm:
1- London Decca Gold, $1,200.  Simply the most revealing cartridge and widest soundstage I have ever heard.  Detailed but not bright, sterile or fatiguing.  Can be used with any MM phono stage but sounds best with specific loading.

2- Any Ortofon SPU, but as an entry I would recommend the SPU #1 w/ either conical or elliptical stylus, under $650.  My favorite on a budget would the Classic GM E MkII, $1,100.  Revealing (not as much as the more expensive versions) but very musical.  Very low output, requires a high gain phono stage or an SUT.  I like the Ortofon ST-80SE w/ SPUs.

Both of these cartridges are "old school" but very modern sounding.  What both of these cartridge families share that almost all new cartridges lack is great separation of individual sounds (so you can hear each instrument) and a big, wide soundstage.

What TT or Arm would you recommend for the Decca Gold ?