Cartridge headshell, what would you choose and why?


Hi Audiogoners,
It is price from $15 to $800. What is the advantage of buying an expensive one? What do you hear?
Thanks,
Calvin

dangcaonguyen
I have both Sumiko and LP Gear ZuPreme headshells. When I first got the Sumiko it was $40. Now they're $90 and the ZuPreme is still $54.95. Not only is the ZuPreme significantly cheaper, it is the same with one difference that I prefer:

The ZuPreme finger lift is attached directly to the headshell, whereas with the Sumiko it's a separate piece that has to be incorporated into the mounting screw assembly with the cartridge. I find it significantly more difficult to mount a cartridge on the Sumiko than on the ZuPreme. OTOH, you can use the separate finger lift as a shim if mounted between the top of the cartridge and the bottom of the headshell. My tonearm has height adjustment so I don't need no shimmin'.

Otherwise, at $54.95 the LpGear ZuPreme rules for what it does for so little.
@czarivey thanks for clarification.
I will order the LP Gear ZuPreme as reccomended by many of you.
Thanks a lot,
Calvin

Personally I have no experience with Orsonic, which makes multiple models, A cursory look at Google returns show an AV1s, AV1b, AV101s, AV101b, AV11s, and Av11b. I don't know the distinctions, and the eBay listings don't seem to differentiate either. 

The AV101 series cost about 50% more than the AV1 and AV11 series. I notice that the included cartridge leads are not as nice as the ones included with the Sumiko and ZuPreme headshells. But that doesn't tell everything.

I do know that the ZuPreme is slightly lighter than the Sumiko. I have a 6.5g cartridge on my Sumiko and an 8.3g on my ZuPreme, and yet the overall weight of each assembly is the same (21g). I don't have to reset zero balance when I switch, which was a happy accident.