Whats the best Cartridge for a bright Pro-ject 9 ?

07-13-08: Stringreen
Your question is rife with crazy making. I have discovered that the balancing act of using a bright component with a rolled off contrasting component introduces additional problems to the system.

Boy, you got that right! A couple months ago I got a Cambridge Audio 640P phono section. This is pretty linear, but on the fast and detailed side. The specs rate the RIAA curve accuracy out to 50KHz. Anyway, I tried feeding it to a Hafler Series 915 JFET class A line stage that was reputedly "designed to sound like a tube stage" and the result was just weird.

The speed and detail of the 640P somehow got turned into a sort of tubby, rubbery presentation, and I didn't get the full potential out of the 640P until I fed it into a similarly fast, linear, wideband line stage.

If you want a cart get the benz ace.

Stringreen is absolutely correct, no doubt!

Since I wrote my question my system has warmed up quite a bit. I do have it connected to the 47hz output. I'm still using the Music Fidelity XLPSv3 phono pre amp which has more warmth then the PS Audio GCPH I borrowed but not as much detail. The PS Audio GCPH has its own volume control so you can run it straight to a amp or Rogue Audio mono blocks like I do. Can anyone recommend a good phono pre amp? My Music Fidelity is nice but not the best when it comes to detail , the PS Audio is too edgy and brighter then the Music Fidelity. Remember I'm using a Dynavecter 20x high output.

Can anyone recommend a good phono pre amp?

Almost anything will be an upgrade to the MF X-LPSv3. I found that it lacked any sense of warmth, three dimensional soundstage or lifelike realism when compared to an EAR 834P, Wright WPP100c, WPP200c, and Hagerman Cornet2. Other phono stages that easily outperform the X-LPS are: Jolida JD-9a, Pro-Ject Tube Box SE, Grado PH-1, Bottlehead Seduction, Juicy Music Tercel, AES/Cary PH-1

Is your Dynavector DV 20x high or low output?