Which cartridge is the Imaging/soundstaging champ


Hello all:
I'm a new participant in these forums, though I've read virtually every post for the last 18 months. I'm a new owner of a Scoutmaster/JMW 9.
I got a Grado Statement Sonata as a starter cartridge(also using the VPI 3 gm headshell weight), and feel like I've gotten it set up pretty wel(VTA/VTF/SRA seem as good as I can get them). I have a nice high resolution system but can't seem to create an outrageously terriffic soundstage with pinpoint imaging like my digital front end can. I really can only listen to SOTA digital recordings at this point as my analog front end is just so superior overall. I do miss the excellent imaging and stage specificity though. I'm using the Cardas Neutral Reference phono cable into my EAR 864 preamp (with wonderful Mullard NOS tubes).
I feel the Grado is the culprit. What do you think? Which cartridge in the $750-$1500 range would be the imaging champ?
Thanks for your help.
Jim
jdolgin
Doug,thanks SO much for the kind words.In all honesty the only thing I may(?)have added(I find it hard to believe others were not aware of some of this),on the helpful side,was some hard learned 2.2 aspects of tweaking it to max performance. I'm now beginning to wonder whether it(mine) is really meaningfully optimized without a REALLY good digital guage(most guages,of this type,except the WINDS,which I'll be getting soon,exibit drift.My current one is cute,but I don't trust it,after recent experience with the Winds).I trust few of them,and am looking forward to getting a bit more from my LP's!I really think,after recently reconfiguring my pal's 2.2,with a new Venustas(Purist)armlink,using a borrowed Winds guage,that it will be a new "KEY" to my own analog bliss!

The rest of my posts actually "sucked",and I really was a "putz" to allow the other me to think that I could get away with some of the muckraking I tried.As it is I get the distinct impression(sadly),that a really fine guy like Larry was put off enough to distance himself a bit!I hope I'm wrong,here!!

My only reason for reposting again,aside from a lovely E-mail from Raul(who happens to be a really decent guy,outside of his inaccurately perceived persona,and I always felt that way),was because I figured that I could gain additional insight(there's always stuff to "ponder")from associations here,and sometimes I may(?)be able to add something meaningful.So,in reality I'm back for selfish reasons,and to gain from picking up new insights,from people like YOU!

Thanks!!!
Jdolgin,
As it's clear that you'd like to hear about some direct experience with JMW9 & Airy2, I can offer semi-relevant experience. I'm currently using a JMW12.6 with the Airy3-S-SB. It strikes me and many visitors as a very good combination. As Doug noted above, the silver base weight from ZYX(or the VPI weight), denoted as "SB" in the model, is required for successful matching.
I'd venture to guess that the Airy2 would be great with the JMW9, and you'd find it worth the price of admission.
FWIW, I second the comment about records having to be very clean, or you hear impact of every piece of dust. Cheers,
Spencer
Thanks all!!!
I've ordered a ZYX airy from Mehran.
My system is very warm with tubes tubes and more tubes.
A neutral, high resolution, detail retrieving cartridge should work perfectly.
My EAR 834P MC section has 100 Ohm input impedance, and enough gain.
Hopefully, all will match up well.
Jim
Jdolgin:
I remember reading an article in Stereophile(91) with a rep from Keotsu and he said their cartridges were designed for Classical and Jazz genre's. Now this was a long time ago and now their are so many keotsu cartridges I'm sure some are suited for other genre's like rock,Opera etc etc. What ever you buy tell the dealer what kind of music you listen to. No need buying a cartridge that does a superb job unraveling the inner detail in Classical recordings if you don't listen to classical. In life and in manufacturing you must sacrifice some things for the whole... unless you can afford it all.
Qdrone:
I know that designers always incorporate their personal taste in the creation of their products. I think our role as music lovers is not just to learn their biases, but to be designers ourselves. No system that's created to excel in one type of music will ultimately be satisfying in the long term. Our job as we design our own systems is to select components that give us satisfaction with many types of music. By blending strengths of different components a system should be able to provide long term pleasure. My musical tastes evolve continuously. I've gone through phases of Choral music, small scale singer-songwriters, Mahler, classic rock. As a young man I was involved in performing almost all musical genres at different stages.
Ultimately, a component makes music or not. Any product that is designed for a small niche can't provide long term satisfaction. Clearly no component or system can be perfect, but real music whether amplified, acoustic or acapella has an inherent rightness that is not hard to recognize.
Hopefully, the neutrality of the ZYX cartridge will fit
with this concept of music reproduction.
Any ZYX owners care to chime in with their .02??