The Ortofon Windfeld Ti should be on your list. It comes as close to your “digital retrieval” as any cartridge I have ever owned. Currently in rotation with a Kiseki
Purpleheart and Koetsu RSP.What’s you opinion of the Purplehead and Koetsu?
MC Cartridge Ideas
I will ask Soundsmoth, but would prefer something Japanese. Well then, I am truly happy with my Koetsu Black Goldline. The sound in my current system is to die for. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 Right in your budget range. Maybe even well below it if you do like me and find someone with a killer deal. Then if you trick it out with fo.Q tape, TC, PHT and ECT like in the pics, man you will for sure think you died and went to heaven. To be more technically precise about it, there are no cartridges available new or used that will touch a Koetsu Black Goldline tricked out with all the above tweaks. None. En oh en eee. You could pay full retail for the Koetsu, plus the other stuff, you would be right at about $3200. Probably nothing under $10k in that league. Take it to the bank. Sign it. Cash it. Spend the money. |
Looking at your Opera Tonearm i think you can use a wide range of cartridges, but please make sure about effective mass of the tonearm, as i can see you can even swap the arm tube (longer is for lower compliance cartridges). There is a Dynavector KARAT on the image from tonearm manufacturer, this model with very short diamond cantilever must be excellent! I have DV KARAT-17D2 mkII , even previous model was great, i also tried 23RS Ruby and was very impressed. They are not very expensive. Maybe you can ask tonearm manufacturer why he decided to use Dynavector for advertising his tonearm online. |
Looking at your Opera Tonearm i think youcan use a wide range of cartridges, but please make sure about effective mass of the tonearm, as i can see you can even swap the arm tube (longer is for lower compliance cartridges). There is a Dynavector KARAT on the image from tonearm manufacturer, this model with very short diamond cantilever must be excellent! I have DV KARAT-17D2 mkII , even previous model was great, i also tried 23RS Ruby and was very impressed. They are not very expensive. Maybe you can ask tonearm manufacturer why he decided to use Dynavector for advertising his tonearm online. I actually bought the turntable with the 17D3 Karat, but the cantilever broke a few years back. It was an awesome combo and then I got the xx2 which improved on the bass. Time to get a new cartridge. |
@Kunalraiker The Koetsu RSP is absolutely beautiful in its presentation but its strength is in the midrange. It provides more of a musical immersion than a digital like reproduction. The Purpleheart is one of the most emotionally engaging cartridges I have owned. Again not as crystalline a musical producer as the Windfeld Ti, but I have found myself so enthralled with some pieces I have ended quite a few album sides almost holding my breath as the music’s emotions peaked. Each has a roll to play in my system. Both of these are twice as difficult to mount and optimize their set up due to stylus location compared to the Ortofon IMO. |