The hunt is over

@ozzy Sorry, but a gentleman doesn't tell

@sokogear I disagree- I view stylus and cartridges as consumables that are subject to wear and tear and understand that eventually, need replacement. That said, my last cartridge, a Linn Arkiv B, was something I ran not quite 20 years. Maybe 18? Not sure, but doesn't really matter. 

@arro222 The "why's" are pretty easy- and I will start with the easiest.

1- Marantz 20 Tuner and McIntosh PS112 subwoofer: people gave those to me

2- Pass Labs electronics- After wafting through many brands, ie, Adcom, Bryston, Proceed, Conrad Johnson, Rogue, and others, I listened to Pass gear and for me it resolved every dilemma that pulled me alternately between tubes and solid state

3- McIntosh MR78- Wanted one for 30 plus years; found a clean one at a good price, and learned my mistake from passing up a Marantz 10B for $600

4- Linn LP12: sometime in the mid to late 80's, perhaps 1987 or 88, I heard an LP 12 and said- that's the table for me. Took another 10 years but I found my LP12 and while I know it isn't the very very best, the way to makes music sure works for me. 

5- Revel Studio 2- for a very long time I was a confirmed Magnepan person, I liked the dynamics of box speakers but always felt they lacked a certain quality- a congestion if you will. Then came Revel- the first box speaker to sway me away from Maggies. I've owned Revels since 2000, and these are my 2nd pair. These speakers are full range, don't suffer from dynamic compression at any sane listening level, and gets out of the way of the music. Images well too.

6- Simaudio Neo260D: I used to have a Meridian 508.24, and also a Rega Apollo. and even earlier a California Audio Labs machine. Each did things very well, but I searched for a CD player platform that reminded me tonally of my LP12, and Simaudio did it for me. BTW, the Meridian was the first CD player I owned which I actually could listen to vocals with out running for the hills.

7- Bricasti M1- the first DAC I ever heard that to me didn't merely sound great for digital, it simply sounded great. Still does- 

8- Auralic Aries G1- An impressive mix of capabilities and sound quality. It's not a sonic match for my LP12, but the only sonic match for my LP12 in the streaming world that I have found was a $20,000 Naim streamer (the top Linn did not do it for me) and that wasn't happening. For me streaming is a gateway to musical exploration. If I like the album I discover via streaming there still is a decent chance I will buy it on vinyl. On its own terms, a fine sounding machine with very impressive soundstaging. Plus lets face it- bass is a real strength of digital. 2022 digital is incredibly different than was 1985 digital.

9- Bottlehead headphone amp- I built it (along with other bottlehead gear)- sounds vey good and the cool factor for me is way high particularly as the circuit is not stock. My other bottlehead amp is extremely far from stock

10- Hifiman HE560 headphones; a concession to my continued fondness for planar magnetic transducers.

The gear all had to fit together with what I was trying to accomplish, and I am happy to say it meets my goal. 

@zavato - my point is that when the stylus wears out, it is a decision point to either retip it and perform whatever other service it may need, get a new replacement for the same cartridge (which I did last time), or opt for a different one. Yes cartridges are consumable, but they have a critical impact on the SQ, perhaps the most. They are not stylus cleaning fluid or tubes if you are a tube guy. To me, an end game means no more decisions. I think I’ve found my end game with my car (but will still need to keep a second car for my wife and inclement weather/long distances for me) and only need to decide where to take it for annual service and other longer interval services and tires. Tires are consumables, and of course impact the driving experience, but in no way like a cartridge impacts the SQ of a stereo.

@sokogear -

In that my old cartridge was a Lyra made cartridge as is my new one, I view what I did in switching cartridges as going from one set of nice Continental Tires (I like Contis) to a more modern but equally nice set of Contis. When changing cartridges I was basically happy with the tonality of my old cartridge; I just wanted something that I would be able to instantly recognize as part of the same family.