Dynavector or Grado ?

Perhaps Tpsonic should mention he is a dealer and has an interest in the Dynavector line.

With a JMW10/Aries combo, the DV20XH was an excellent cartridge for rock and roll, actually I thought it was excellent period. Tain't heard the grado.
I replaced it with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood (yeck)and then a Shelter 901 and the a Lyra Helicon SL. Of the 4, the DV20 was the smart buy.

THe Grado cartidges are a little more forgiving of bad recordings than other cartridges. Little experiance with the Dynavectors. Grado Sonata is avery nice sounding cart.

Good luck!

Before buying the 20XH for my Scout I talked at length with the tech folks at VPI. According to them the performance parameters of the Dynavector add up to ideal synergy with the VPI. They could not make a stronger recommendation for matching the table. After 6 months I couldn't agree more--super sound and a great value. I'd say go for the Dyna! (P.S. I concur with the hum and vibration problems of the Grado. I had one mounted in a Rega RB300 that shimmied like crazy and my friend put one in his Aries Extended that hummed like a dog. I'm sure the Grados can sound good but I'll be damned if I could get one to run right in either set up.)

The hum deal with the Grados is an old problem; with a properly shielded tonearm cable it's a non-issue. The very expensive Dynas are very musical and sweet sounding. However the lower priced models, 10X5, 20X are somewhat lean and antiseptic sounding. They also lack the ability to provide a firm focused bottom end in a revealing system. That being said, the lower priced Grados are better at their respective price points.