@rauliruegas, @uberwaltz,
Gents, please give Jeff a break, this is his post, he asked for advise, you gave it. But, when people do not listen to you, please do not be offended, because the OP may respond defensively and down rabbit hole the post goes. If you read his prior posts, he listens, but makes his own decisions - good for him, its his ears, its his life, its his money.
The two of you by your statistics are pretty amazing, joined 2012/2013 and since have accummulated almost 20,000 posts; impressive but this a community forum, and you are only a voice in a chorus. If you were professional reviewers that had published detailed reviews there may more documented evidence to your position, but even then, its all transient until to next 'great' product.
The Hana SL is the current $750 darling, but it is MC and will be more sensitive to pre-amp, does not have a threaded headshell and with a shibata stylus can be very sensitive to setup, so it may not be the best 1st cartridge for someone who may not have a lot of experience or the supporting equipment to get the best performance from it. The $750 Ortofon 2M Black MM is always a safe recommendation, but the replacement stylus is $550. So, my recommendation is trying to consider the whole picture, and if the OP does not agree with my recommendation, thats OK, that is their God given right, and I am not granted the right to judge their decisions.
Otherwise, the next $729 darling is likely to be the Audio Technica AT-OC9XSL. If you read the specs, its unbelievable for the price, threaded headshell, micro fine stylus, boron cantilever, best possible copper wire, neodymium magnets, and on and on, but it has not yet been professionally reviewed. But given the specs, and the company behind it, it has all the 'potential' to be the next 'giant-killer'.
