Phono cartridge suggestions sought

Elliot, Thanks for sharing your perspective’s. I spent a lot of time on alignment also. I was a chef in my first career, and precision of tools in there use is deeply ingrained in me. So I feel like that is handled. I have a Shure M97xe in “my fleet” as well, and have always enjoyed it’s “buttery” sonics, athough the sound is also more “dampedl than my Denon103r and other cartridges I have heard. It also didn’t have as high end extension or crispness—and I am old enough to be limited in that area, so that says something.

But apart from that, now that Shure is out of the game, what are you doing for replacement styluses?

As for the Stylast, I use it before every side. I have hd the current bottle three years, and I imagine the bottle will last at least another 5+, so I can’t worry about that.

Hey, here is an interesting interesting quote from an Art Dudley review of the Peachtree Nova 300:

After experiencing an excess of lightness from CDs and SACDs, I braced myself for similar results from LPs—and was relieved to hear no such thing: perhaps a simple consequence of the fact that the Shindo SPU pickup I was using has a proper, God-fearing spherical stylus, which doesn't lighten or brighten recordings as can other styli.

Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/peachtree-audio-nova300-integrated-amplifier-page-2#54RZs8i2uEBK...

Given our discussion about stylus profiles in here, I thought it was a refreshing take to  hear what a great ear has to say about the advantages of a spherical stylis vs the disadvantage of other shapes. 

 now that Shure is out of the game, what are you doing for replacement styluses?

JICO SAS 

Thanks chakster

Some random thoughts:
A bit more output than the 103 wouldn’t go amiss if the 60dB quoted as the maximum gain for an unbalanced output for your phonostage by Absolute sounds is accurate. 
What do you know about your arm, was the 103 a good match?
I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the performance of a London Decca I fitted to an Aro recently, and rather disappointed when it started humming when a neighbour turned something or other on in the adjacent apartment, probably his TV or a computer or some such.
If you can get to hear one a 17DX might give the apheta a run for its money but you’re into micro line there so you’ll need clean records, the plus side is the 2000 hour plus stylus life if you don’t mess up the bias setting (like I did on my first D2).
The D2 lacked a bit for body but the range has been improving there, it never lacked for speed.
I’ve heard the Atom at the factory driving Sopra 1s and at a dealership driving some Russell K floor standers, on both occasions the object was to show the improvement to be had from the Star and Nova, I’ve not hears it with speakers that were chosen for the Atom, oh and I’ve heard it powering some Shahinian Hawks surprisingly well, though not well enough to live with, its still an entry level product, how much cartridge does it need?
I get the succession thing, I have some Thiels and a Transfiguration, the latter will be very hard to replace. Ortofon and AT won’t suffer from that though AT have been known to drop support for some of their discontinued cartridges after a disappointingly short while.