Affordable Mono Cartridge For VPI Scout

Miyajima has a newish mono cart out for just less than $400. Their $1000 model has reviewed well, and their stereo carts are considered to be very good.

Myself... I run a denon DL102 and a Decca 78c for my 78s for mono.

Here is another one.
http://www.lptunes.com/Audio-Technica-AT-MONO-3-LP-cartridge-p/atmono3lp.htm

As I said before - Denons and the S/S VPI 9 arm is a great combination....Harry himself says that.

I really appreciate all of these comments. I had a conversation with Soundmith, but I'm still researching this issue. Since I have a Shelter 501 stereo cartridge (which the mono cartridge will be going up against), I'm leaning toward getting one of similar price/quality...the Soundsmith folks seemed to steer me towards the SMMC1 or SMMC2 as significantly better than the Denon (for more $$$). I had thought that Soundsmith might have steered me towards Denon mods, but they didn't. In this crazy world of high end audio, I'm thinking of roughly $1,000 or less (including discounts). I'm not sure...but my impression is that after this price range of $700 to $1000, one starts to get diminishing returns in cartridges...not sure. The most expensive thing to do in audio, however...I think is getting a case of upgrade-itis. I'd rather spend a little more than the Denon so that, within the next five years or so...I don't feel the need to upgrade as I move up to a better table. Seperately, I like the idea of getting an MM cartridge...just for the sake of getting a different sound...should be fun. Has anybody tried the Cartridge Man Music Maker?

Look at it this way, get one of the $175 cartridges. Then 1, you like it, you have saved $800. 2. you don't like it, you sell it as mint for $125, you have lost $50. I think those are good odds. Despite having a totally ridiculous amount of money invested in audio I use Denon and AT cartridges because I find they work very well and I am not convinced you get more with higher price. If spending more makes you feel better fine but sound quality and dollars spent are not always in direct correlation. Hmm, if enough people feel this way I should change the name of my business from Alternative Audio to Stan's Spa and stress the regenerative effect of audio expenditures.