New cartridge $500 range


I have a Pro-Ject 2 Xperience turntable with a Sumiko Blue point #2 cartridge. It is time for a new cartridge. I’m thinking of switching to a MM cartridge. Is there something out there that would be a upgrade from the blue point in the $500 range. 

Rest of my system:
Emotiva XMC-1
Parasound 2125v2 for the front left and right speakers
AV123 Strata Mini front speakers
Pro-Ject Phono Box SE phono amp
Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Parasound Zphono USB phono amp (mostly for recording)
I also have an Emotiva UPA-700 to power my center and surround speakers.

I am thinking of a MM cartridge to get a little more gain, having to turn the volume way up kind of bothers me a little. I would be open to staying with the blue point or another MC cartridge. I would just like something that is easy to setup





thegreenline
I'd recommend an Ortofon MC3 Turbo. It's a high output MC, like your Sumiko, but I believe the output is a little higher, and the nude fine line stylus should give you a significant upgrade in sound from the elliptical stylus you're running now.
Second the Hana EL/EH recommendation. I have the EH in one of my turntables and love it. To my ears, it really sounds its best at about 50 dB worth of gain. 
The Sumiko is already a pretty good $500 cartridge, I agree with others that your better bang-for-buck upgrade would be a phono stage, highly recommend the Dynavector P75 which you should be able to pick up used in that price range. Huge upgrade and tons of flexibility for loading and output.