Going from MM to MC

Soundsmith has some of the best and are well grounded from vibration and interference! 

With all due respect to all of you very knowledgeable analog persons, I think you’ve succeeded once again in driving another analog novice into the weeds with too much information and scaring him off. That’s why I suggested the Linn cartridge so he could have a simple, comfortable solution without overloading him with so many choices that he gets paralyzed with indecision. I don’t think a glut of information is helpful in the beginning. I’m willing to be wrong, but when someone is starting out it’s better to just present the easiest path. At least that’s what I think. Be well. 

Chayro, I tend to think the OP is a big boy who must know that almost no question posed on this Forum ever elicits a single unanimous opinion from the peanut gallery. But I do agree that the myriad of responses, many of them to questions that were never asked, can be dismaying even to a disinterested casual reader of threads.

Crustycoot, since you own the phono stage, I trust you know what you’re talking about, but in reading the manual and scrutinizing the web, I fail to understand why you can’t use balanced mode for other than MC cartridges. Can you comment?

If you can find a van den Hul dealer, I would recommend his (AJ's) cartridges highly. Great detailed sound, medium output MC with a very long stylus life. There are tons of options, some less expensive, but if you include the ongoing stylus replacement cost, it makes up for it and you have a better sounding cartridge. I have an MC One Special that lists for close to $2K or so. And if you ever want to really splurge, I have heard their phono stage, the Grail, is really the holy grail (i'm not going there), perfectly matched to their cartridges. I use it with a Rega P8, so I expect it would pair well with a Linn arm, but make sure the weight is compatible. It's on the lighter side.

I'm a long time Ortofon MC user, and fan.  I've strayed a few times to other brands, only to come back to the Ortofon sound.  Most recently I tried a Soundsmith Zephyr II.  I wanted to get something with more output (less noise). I liked it OK.... it was very clean & clear... but boring.  After over a year on my table, I popped my old MC-30 SuperII back into my arm and got a shot of adrenaline!  My very old MC was much more engaging than the Zephyr (but not as resolving).  Then I tried a Quintet Black (very nice) and now I have a Cadenza Blue (very VERY nice!)  I am totally happy with my 30+ year old Sota Sapphire TT with the Cadenza Blue cart, into a Parasound JC3+.