Cartridge upgrade


Hi all.  I have a quick question.  I have a Marantz TT-15S1 turntable that I've been enjoying for the last couple of years.  I am still using the included MM Clearaudio Virtuoso wood cartridge that has served me well so far.  At the end of last year, I upgraded my phono stage to a Manley Chinook that I like a lot.  I am looking to upgrade my cartridge this fall.  I was looking at Kiseki Purple Heart NS.  My question is this, does it make sense to put a $3,400 cartridge on a $1,700 (base audiophile) table?  I imagine there will be some sound improvement but how much?

rfauto

@rfauto That is a fine little table and you can put any cartridge you want on it although you might have to add a little mass for some cartridges. It appears that Kiseki is pulling out of the American market as the usual retailers are not carrying them any more. You might look at the Audio Technica ART20, the Lyra Delos, The Soundsmith Voice and the Grado Statement. I would get The Soundsmith Voice because its tracking ability is top notch, it is very dynamic, it is high output which will give you a vastly better signal to noise ratio, Soundsmith's service is second to none and retipping is way more reasonable than any other cartridge. Buy it directly from Soundsmith. 

You can only expect top notch performance when the cartridge is set up correctly. You will need an alignment jig preferably for Lofgren B or A. The tone arm has a calibrated counter balance which is fine. Set anti skating so the arm drifts slowly towards the spindle between grooves in the run out area or on a blank side.  

What other kind of advice is there?

id say get a better cartridge but don’t spend $3400. There are many great cartridges out there for under $1500 that will handily outperform the Clearaudio.

I have this table as well, and I've been very happy with it using an AT OC9XSL MC cart. I think people tend to underestimate the ability of this turntable. I have no desire to upgrade to a more expensive table with this combo. 

I have always been a "more for your money" type of buyer.  Audio Technica has a great lineup of cart's at a wide variety of price ranges. I would look at the VM line and you can choose different stylus types.  Go for the microline or shibata.  Bargain.