On the fence about Vinyl need a good phono stage for A/B testing

Geek101:

you wrote:
”Or what is "the" cartridge for Luxman EQ-500 to be worthy?.”

I am not the arbiter for such things :) I think my Ana Mighty Sound modified Denon 103r (103.3) sounds much better with it. The Audio Technica ART 1000 simply sounds sublime with the EQ 500 and they bring the best out of each other.

I can only write for myself; stating that fact, I’d probably not go for the EQ 500 unless I was looking at cartridges $5k and above. There are always exceptions :)

Now please note, I’m  writing about myself. If you have a cartridge you love and you feel like the EQ 500 or any stage would do it justice then by all means proceed. This is an individual journey and no one can tell you what you like, although I can think of a few on this forum who will attempt to tell you what you should like and why :)

audiofun, Thank you. This does put things into perspective for me. I appreciate it :).

Geek101:

My pleasure.

I just purchased a Goldnote PH 10 it sounds almost as good as my $7000 rig and is much more versatile !

I have a Luxman CL38U-SE preamp and I can say the phono is outstanding. Dead quiet as the phono has 4 step up transformers. Two for MC high and two for MC low. It uses three 12ax-7 tubes. Art Dudley reviewed it at compared it favorably w/his Shindo preamp. It's currently a rated a Class A preamp. Make sure you get the SE version. Luxman made only 100 units world wide. Also if your looking for a phono the Luxman E-250 is priced around the Parasound JC3+. The 250 also has a mono switch, cart demagnetizer, and a step up transformer.