Grado Sonata, Signature 8MZ, Shure V15VXMR

Gents,

I read the MM threads with much interest. I took out the Reference Sonata from my Audiomeca Septum arm a while back and I am now using a VanDenHul The FROG HO. My preamplifier gives about 60dB of gain, things are really sweet, but then, I Have To Start Messing With a Good Thing.

I think the VanDenHul is really, really good. But then, I also thought the Sonata was good too. There was the psychological effect of having paid a lot of money for a fancy MC cart (albeit a HO version), but I did find the Sonata had really good qualities and I will play with it again now that I have come back to earth. If memory serves well, the VDH has stuff the Grado does not have (accuracy, finesse, minimizing surface noise), and the Grado had other things, like an ease of listening, ease of setup, really groovy sound.

I had the Grado in a RB300 with Pete Riggle counterweight. I never tried the Grado in the Audiomeca Septum. I am burning to do it, but then it took me so long to fine tune the VanDenHul and it is singing now.

I am debating putting a second arm on my rig to play with MM cartridges.

One thing I fail to grasp from the myriad of MM posts is the comparative quality of new vs old MM types. One example: Raul recommends the Nagaoka MP50. Is the current production MP500 as good -or better- as the MP50, or is it a case of "they don't make them as good as they used to"?

Same with the Grado: Should I bother shelling out 100$ to get a new stylus for my Signature 8MZ, or am I wasting my time since it will never approach the sound of the Reference Sonata?

As for the Shure V15VXMR, I am told the replacement stylus from SAS is as good if not better as the original Beryllium asssembly. Now, outside of cult following, is there a point in retipping this cartridge if I have the Sonata? I am thinking not, that I should just sell the bodies and use the money to get one of the Cool Old School MM recommended in Raul's seminal tread.

My question to you gentlemen:

1- Do I retip the Shure V15VXMR and the Grado Signature 8 since they can compare favorably against the Reference Sonata?
or
2- Do I sell the bodies, use the money to buy another challenger to the Sonata, since these two carts will never come close to the Reference Sonata?

Cheers, and thanks for the tips!