I had a special low output Grado Reference cartridge. It put out 1.5 mv. It was my work horse cartridge for some 25 years. Finally one channel died and I desided to retire it. The arm on this table a SOTA Cosmos is a Syrinx PU3, a medium mass arm suitable for many cartridges. I us an ARC phono amp. The Grado was a great tracker and very musical, easy going and fluid.
i got to try a friends Clearaudio Titanium which was less laid back than the Grado. What struck me the most were the dynamics. That cartridge in my system had more punch than George Forman. The Titanium was out of my affordability without pissing off the wife range but I manage to sneak into the Da Vinci. That part of Clearaudio line has the same motor, cantilever from the Talisman up to the Titanium. Only the bodies change. Th Da Vinci and Titanium get the Golfinger's stylus. The Golfinger has a different motor. The Talisman is really the sweet spot where price and performance line up to give you the best value. It has a rising high above 15 KHz which some people like. As the cartridge breaks in it does flatten out. if you have cantilever anxiety it is probably not the cartridge for you. The Lyra Delos is the other cartridge in this price range that stands out.
i got to try a friends Clearaudio Titanium which was less laid back than the Grado. What struck me the most were the dynamics. That cartridge in my system had more punch than George Forman. The Titanium was out of my affordability without pissing off the wife range but I manage to sneak into the Da Vinci. That part of Clearaudio line has the same motor, cantilever from the Talisman up to the Titanium. Only the bodies change. Th Da Vinci and Titanium get the Golfinger's stylus. The Golfinger has a different motor. The Talisman is really the sweet spot where price and performance line up to give you the best value. It has a rising high above 15 KHz which some people like. As the cartridge breaks in it does flatten out. if you have cantilever anxiety it is probably not the cartridge for you. The Lyra Delos is the other cartridge in this price range that stands out.