A pragmatic view of cartridge expenses / many questions

Recent bought a degritter and I can attest to its value. Beside just an overall better sounding record, the quieter the phono stage the more you can appreciate the reduced noise floor it creates. 

A Decca cartridge will work well with your SME. Once you hear one, you probably won't need to spend the mega bucks. Nothing gets you closer to the sound of musicians playing music. I haven't  looked back after buying a Super Gold with a Paratrace stylus. And total rebuilds to basically a new cartridge are less than $700. 

There was no internal impedance listed on the spec sheet. 
Here’s what was listed for loading values: 
Load Impedance: 20-47k
Optional load impedance: 20-200

Its packed up and heading out today. I concluded my experiment. As we all know, a lot of this is about synergy. I just don’t feel it in my system. At least I can say I tried it and know what it sounds like on my system. 

@mijostyn,

”experience is always the best teacher.” I absolutely agree on this statement. 

Dear @audioquest4life : The resonance frequency using the V with the LPS is lower than 8hz and using the Jade is over 12hz.

mijostyn touched a critical issue that we have to take care carefully if we want true quality performance high levels.

The Jade and LPS can’t show to you their true quality performance, yes it can sounds but that’s all .
You prefer the Soundsmith over the LPS and is because you are given the SS what it needs and you did not give what the LPS is asked for.
Your cartridges compariason is not totally fair between the SS and LPS and certainly not even to the VDH. In the other side I hope that you make your comparisons at the same SPLs because our ears are extremely sensible even to 0.1db differences.

@lewm normally that VDH model comes with internal 13 ohms, so loading at 20 ohms is out of question but he is just testing it . Btw, even that is hiper-analytical and that's why I posted exist an overall set up problem.

aq4l, if you are using the I/O then exist a critical problem to fulfill any LOMC cartridge and does not matters those 80db on gain because this kind of gain figure is achieved through at least 5 different circuit stages where the cartridge signal must pass through and where at each one is degraded our beloved audio signal and that overall degradation means: higher noise levels added at each circuit stage, added, distortions, added..., added...,. and the I/O inverse eq. is an additional problem.

All those if you are using the I/O but if not then never mind.

Only trying to help in objective way, not a subjective as you said.

R.

Thanks, Raul.  As you may recall, I once owned a Colibri, and it occurred to me that it and most other VDH LOMC cartridges I know about do or did not have particularly low internal resistance, which is what one would want if loading at 20 ohms.  But listening tests are the most important criteria.