Cartridge

He has used and I have listened to the cart that is on there and it sounds terrible. Closed off, non musical and dead. This is sort of an experiment but I still want to sound decent. Right now it's not so good.

i agree with vridian's budget choices, but be careful of what flavor you're looking for. the AT's can be bright depending on what your taste / hearing is like. i find them a little grating on most decks. i use a denon 110, not bad for the money. for the level of tracking ability it has, sounds quite good (i like the tone of grado platinum and garrott k1 better, but they don't track nearly as well in my arms (linn akito 2 and rega). shure 97 not bad either, but a bit boring. maybe a benz ace would be the right ticket, just a guess... i never used it in my setups

I second the Grado Gold IF you're looking for rich and sweet which can go a long way towards being forgiving of non-ideal records. I wouldn't pair them but the Grado Sonata lists for $500 and is a major step up but overkill for that table. If you're thinking of possibly upgrading the table if the vinyl thing takes, then you'd be wasting less money by going with the Sonata even though it would be a better match for the eventuality of the better table. Either one tracks light at 1.5 grams and has loads o' gain at 4mv. Along those price lines, the Clearaudio Beta S lists for $500 and is another nice jumping off point, a little less compliant, tracks much heavier at 2.2 grams but still with plenty of gain at 3.6mv and much more neutral and resolving.

So what you guys are thinking is don't spend much more than 300 bucks on a cart for that particular table? In speaking to people at Music Direct and Needle Doctor they are saying that the table is good enough for a $600 cart. I realize they are trying to make as high priced sale as possible. I just want to realize the full potential of this table for my son. I figure I pay for most all of his gear I sure want it to sound good when I go over to have a listen. Again if a $600 cart will out class a $200 one than I am ok with spending the money. If he decides he likes vinyl then the table will most certainly get upgraded. Thanks again for all your help!