I moved a couple of turntables around yesterday, putting my Project RPM 9 in my main system and mounting a re-tipped Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood on it. I've had the Virtuoso sitting in the closet for probably a year or so because I've been afraid to use it.
I've broken the cantilever off not once, but twice. It's the most expensive cartridge I own now, LOL.
The RPM 9/Virtuoso combination bettered my Clearaudio Emotion / Hana SL setup, which surprised me (pleasantly) as that sounded very nice. The Virtuoso has more shimmer and sparkle and "air" on the top end, great separation and soundstage, and is very detailed.
I played my brand new 180 gram copy of Blood on the Tracks and my MOFI copy of side two of Fleetwood Mac S/T. It was pretty close to audio nirvana.
The acoustic guitars on Blood on the Tracks sounded really nice and World Turning on Fleetwood Mac was really dynamic. I heard some background vocals from Stevie on Say you Love Me that I never noticed before.
