New cartridge $500 range

I wasn’t going to chime in here because I don’t have experience with many of the cartridges mentioned here, but as I thought about it, I’ve had several in my time. Including Dynavector, Denon, Several mid to upper end Audio Technica, A Sumo Coil, Grado, Nagatron, Nagaoka, Goldring, ADC, Pickering and Stanton.
When I read this thread, my thoughts instantly went to 2.For MM, Nagaoka, as high as you can afford and For MC, the Audio Technica AT OC9/II.... What also came to mind is to do significantly better than the Project phono, you’d probably have to step up to something like a Rega Fono/Rega Mini fono A2D, but beware, the Rega MM or MC phono sections are not really adjustable, you would need a cartridge that was a good match for these. The Sim Moon 110LP V2 is a solid choice also.  If money isn’t an issue, I’d look at the Graham Slee phono sections. I don’t know your phono section at all, but I can say that when I upgraded my preamp to an SST Ambrosia, the phono section made allllll the difference in the world and a good phono stage matters. Consider this as strongly as the cartridge. I hope this all helps and makes since. Tim

Just to add, another terrific cartridge IMO is the Ortofon 2m bronze. It sounds fantastic running through a tubed phono stage. $440. The tubes tame some of the dry analytical qualities and add warmth... I got one on my music hall mmf-7.3 ( one of 6 turntables I own). I disagree with stereophile reviewer that the 2m was lacking....he swapped it for the much brighter sounding Golding Elite mc cartridge and seemingly thought it brought the mmf-7.3 to life. If you like fatiguing bright sounding cartridges then I guess go that route. I’m extremely happy with the 2m bronze. My heart lies with the Hana EL though.

One last recommendation for moving coil is the Golding Eroica lx mc cartridge. Much better sounding than the aforementioned Elite, as it is a better all rounder with no brightness or fatigue, an honest sounding cartridge (neutral). I Picked one up from Elusive Disc for $599 recently.

I have discovered over the years that SS amplification combined with tubed preamplification (phono preamp) provides the most enjoyable vinyl experience.

My BP#2 is 15 years old time or a change. A friend let me borrow his Soundsmith Otello. Really liked how it sounded, but again the gain forced me to turn the volume  up more than I’m comfortable with.

Thought about the Denon, don’t know if my phono amp would have enough gain.

i could stretch for the 2M black. Also thinking of the Nagaoka MP-200 or 300 as well as the A-T VM740ML.