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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
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
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
I have another question: What do you guys think about the Denon 304? I have a friend that works at Denon and can pick up anything Denon or Marantz for half price.

Thanks again!
hesson11
237 posts
 
It surprises me that no one has yet pointed out that Grado cartridges are among the least bright or harsh cartridges in the world. And it's among the sweetest. I would venture to say that almost every alternative cart mentioned thus far has at least the reputation for being brighter than the Grado. If you're having a problem with harshness or brightness, I'd say that the Grado would be the last thing to blame.

-Bob
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
Bob,

Maybe a upper model Grado would be an option? Eventually my plan is to purchase a tube preamp, I really like the Mac 2300 since it has tone controls. I realize that tone adjustments introduce an additional path for the music to travel through and takes away from the purity of the sound. However, due to my setup, I like having that ability. The Mac also has a passive out which will allow a 5.1 decoder should I ever get back into the movie thing. It's expensive at 6K so that's a future purchase.

David
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