whacky-
I’ve used the following:
Sumiko Blackbird-overall nice sonics,but sometimes a little too much detail on the upper end.
Benz Micro Glider-too warm for my tastes,soft overall presentation discontinued now?
Audio Technica OC9III-great budget($500ish)MC, but shrill at the upper end, which was wearing.
These see traits may not be heard in other users systems/ears.
Check this thread out on the ART 9-
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/pani-new-art-9-up-and-running
The ART9 on my VPI Classic, thru my tubed phono, presents itself as a "goldilocks" cart. Not warm, not bright, just....
I would love to try several carts, but they are all $2K+!!
For the level of gear I have, the ART9 makes my system sing.
I wasn’t familiar with the Whest, after taking a peek at the website, looks like fine SS gear. I noticed they list the ART9 and AT50 as some of their test carts for their phono stages. That’s promising.
Your model has been superseded with the 40, but the specs are generally the same, so you have enough gain to consider an even lower output MC like the ART 7, which go for a couple hundred less.
Good luck weeding out the contenders
I’ve used the following:
Sumiko Blackbird-overall nice sonics,but sometimes a little too much detail on the upper end.
Benz Micro Glider-too warm for my tastes,soft overall presentation discontinued now?
Audio Technica OC9III-great budget($500ish)MC, but shrill at the upper end, which was wearing.
These see traits may not be heard in other users systems/ears.
Check this thread out on the ART 9-
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/pani-new-art-9-up-and-running
The ART9 on my VPI Classic, thru my tubed phono, presents itself as a "goldilocks" cart. Not warm, not bright, just....
I would love to try several carts, but they are all $2K+!!
For the level of gear I have, the ART9 makes my system sing.
I wasn’t familiar with the Whest, after taking a peek at the website, looks like fine SS gear. I noticed they list the ART9 and AT50 as some of their test carts for their phono stages. That’s promising.
Your model has been superseded with the 40, but the specs are generally the same, so you have enough gain to consider an even lower output MC like the ART 7, which go for a couple hundred less.
Good luck weeding out the contenders