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New cart for under 1K

I am looking to buy a new cartrdige for my setup. My current system consists of a VPI Scout II with a Black Knight platter and 10.5SE tonearm (the TT Michael Fremer demonstrated a cartridge setup at last years show in NYC), JM Focal 936's, Mac solid state power & pre, and a Dynavector P-75 phono pre-amp. The Focal's are very accurate and tend to be bright in the highs. Brightness is what I am trying to avoid. I've found the highs to be too harsh for my liking, especially with vocals. Sibilance is also an issue and something I have attempted to control with speaker placement, VTA, damping fluid, and the tone controls on my old Mac preamp. My current cart is a Grado Gold. I am hopeful that upgrading to a new cartridge helps eliminate some of the treble harshness and provides a sweeter overall sound. I'm interested in the Dynavector 20x2 so far. Any other suggestions for 1K or under, Benz, Ortofon, Sumiko (Blackbird, a little over 1K, but what the hell)?

Thanks for you assistance!
davidlillis
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
I've owned two of the carts named above, the Ortofon 2M Black and the Soundsmih Zephyr, both on a VPI JMW 10.5 tonearm. IMO the Zephyr is superior in every respect to the 2M Black (sold last year). I recognize that this could be a system issue, YMMV and all that.
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,790 posts
 
Harsh high freqs can result from poorly shielded ICs in a "hot" RF environment (i.e. urban, military, etc.).
I had issues like this in Chicago.
wntrmute2's avatar
wntrmute2
188 posts
 
I like my Sumiko Blackbird. No upper end harshness but good detail across the range. Probably not the last word in carts but an all a rounder that is not fussy about VTA. I have an easily adjustable and repeatable VTA adjustable tonearm and the characteristics do not change much as one raises and lowers the VTA. So if you want a set it and forget it cart that does NOTHING wrong, the BB may be for you. Used ones or even new ons are found here often! I also find that exposed cantilever makes setting the alignment just that much easier.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I have also owned a Sumiko Blackbird, and while I do agree with Wntemute2 that the cartridge itself exhibits no upper end harshness, like the Dynavector, the Blackbird will also not mask the brightness that your Focal speakers exhibit. Neither the Blackbird or the Dynavector will roll off the high's to make your Focals easier on the ears. You would be looking for a wood body Benz or a Koetsu to accomplish this task. The Koetsu is probably out of your price range, unless you consider used.
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
Thank you all for your responses. At this point, I would like to borrow about 10 carts, listen a month to each, and then make a decision. Pursuing such a cause is obviously not practical. I like the idea of a wood body cart, simply common sense tells me that it should be less harsh that plastic or metal.

Dweller, It never dawned on me that living in a highly populated area can cause RF feedback through my cables. Thank you for pointing out that potential issue. I'm using Analysis Plus cables, the inexpensive $100.00 cable as my interconnects as well as my source cables. Since my system has developed from a 5.1 channel to a 2 channel system, I at one time had to purchase many cables which even at $100.00 a pop was expensive.

This hobby is a joy as well as incredibly frustrating. So many choices and getting it "right" seems to cost quote a bit.

Thank you all again for your help. I will post an update once I have my new cartridge.

Regards,

David
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