I read this thread simply out of interest in cartridge choices. I have made few in the last 30 years… and am really happy with my Koetsu Rosewood Signature. Then I noticed the phono stage… a 2SE?
Wow. My first phonostage was an Audio Research PH2… which I upgraded to a 2SE, then 3, then 3SE… but none of these was worth anything compared with the PH8. To me the PH8 finally got out of the way. Such an incredible phono stage. Since then I have had a REF 3 and REF3SE… both better… but if you want to compare cartridges, you first have to get that ancient phono stage out of the way. It may have been groundbreaking in the 1980’s but it is solid state, sterile… primitive phono stage by the standards of the rest of your system.
Before you change cartridges, get a Audio Research PH8 or better.