Help with MC Cartridge Recommendation to Swap from Ortofon 2M Black MM

Hi tablejockey,

AT's upper lines were always among the best MMs IMO. Incredible stylus profiles and ultra-light cantilevers made of beryllium before the EPA helped us out. 

Enjoy your fine cartridge and don't worry about "what's better". You are already at the sweet spot of price/performance.

Best to you tablejockey,
Dave

I have the 2m Black and a Cadenza Red.  If you like the Black,  the Cadenza Red is worth a listen. 

Chinook has nowhere near enough gain for Art7! Art9 much better match, plus listener doesn't mention classical music and AT recommends the 9 over the 7 for music that OP likes. 

Dynavectors need to be on the short list. 

Hana is the new flavor-of-the-month. I still haven't heard one, but just saw a used one listed for first time here. That didn't last long! Cheers,
Spencer

First off, my reason for trying out a MC is just that--to try one.  I thought that a MC might give better detail than a moving coil.  And, I thought that it would be interesting given my phono pre has dip switches and can match with some MCs.  

The AT Art9 seems hard to get unless you go eBay.  I'm not opposed to that though. 

Dynavector would certainly make my list. I would like to try a Denon MC, but I think it's too heavy for my unipivot arm, or maybe not?

 

The Nima arm manual states an acceptable cartridge weight of 5 to 12 grams, so you have quite a wide range to work with.  I'm a huge Dynavector fan, and would strongly suggest the DV Karat 17 as a possible contender at the top of your price range.  However, the 17 has a mass of 5.3 grams and just because the manual says it's compatible that doesn't make it so.  Tried one with my Graham and couldn't get it to balance even though the Graham manual clearly stated 5 grams was OK.  Maybe look for something in the 8 gram range to be safe?  Your call either way.

Good luck & happy listening!