Looking for the best moving coil cart that is around $5K used

I truly love this forum. About the time I start thinking I know a little concerning high fidelity, I find out how little I actually know. I will admit, sometimes my opinion is clouded by an adult beverage or two, but still think I have a discerning ear. Although it's unlikely, I will get any takers, I live in the Nashville Tn area and am sending out a standing invitation to anyone wanting to stop by to explain to me, what I'm not hearing. Maybe I spent too many years at ZZ Top concerts, where even if u were on the last row, the sound was literally ear splitting. Yes-I'm an older guy and as I have mentioned, can't hear much above 12Khz. Perhaps what I'm missing, is in this higher range??  I've been into sound since I was four and went to my uncles and. saw where he had disassembled my grandparents hi-fi and placed the two speakers in different parts of the room. I went home and took my small tubed record player apart and took out the 4" speaker and have been intrigued by sound ever since. No such thing as stereo back then, or it was a fairly new thing. Anyway, guess my ears are old-maybe too old to hear the difference. According to my RTA, I have a pretty good room response.  I'm not ready for the old folks home just yet🙂

Were you to have a great turntable and the Ikeda 407 tonearm, I would strong recommend  the Ikeda 9TT cartridge. It is second in their lineup but is outstanding with something like the BMC MCCI phono stage.

I've been all over the place on this topic over the past ten years or so.  I started with your opinion - that as long as you had a steady, well set-up turntable as a foundation, the cartridge would be all that really mattered.  I've since come around to realizing that it all matters - the cartridge, the turntable, the set-up, and the phono amplifier (and perhaps the SUT, if needed).

I've heard a VPI Prime at an audio show with a bone stock Denon 103 cartridge - that's a sub $400 MC which, by all estimation, should be like nails on the chalkboard.  It was wonderful, and the turntable brought out it's very best.  Now, that same TT can rise to the occasion if you decide to strap a $4,000 Lyra on its 3D tonearm, too.  Both the TT and cartridge can be made or ruined by the phono amplifier.  Much of the time, those traits that people are really looking for when upgrading their rig - sparkle without harshness up top, a tight, controlled bottom end, and silence in the grooves - are actually achieved through the right phono amplification.  With LOMC, an SUT is really important, too, and they aren't all that expensive in the scheme of things.

For your Pioneer, I'd be tempted to stay in the under $1,000 segments just because there are so many good choices nowadays from the likes of Ortofon, Hana, and the venerable Denon D103 and D103R.  Of course, they'll all sing on your scoutmaster, too.  Consider upgrading the VPI with the upgraded tonearm base and a 3D arm, and maybe a VAS Nova Cartridge (Steve Leung from VAS can probably hook you up with all of the above).