Suggestions on cartridge upgrade

I tend to agree with the previous poster and also think that in fact you might want to upgrade your phono stage first and perhaps your turntable later. In any case, there may be no MC cartridge for you under $1k new worth upgrading to. AT and Dynavector have many followers, on the other hand many don't care much. I too don't care much about 10x5 on my Spacedeck/Spacearm but can't figure out yet what to get instead. Was thinking about Shelter 301 or 501, but it appears that they don't do bass well. I may actually try Goldring 1042 MM and see how I like it. It's about $300 from UK dealers. Generally, I have the impression that one has to spend a lot on MC to get it right, much more than $1k for a new one. And some people just don't like MCs feeling that they don't really have enough substance, weight and coherence. I could be one of them, so could you.

Ortofon 2M Black.

That's a tough question to answer. I do love the sound of vinyl, and i guess i'd like to keep that very sweet sound while getting better articulation/separation and placement of instruments, especially in classical music.
My current cartridge is moving coil, and I do like it's sound, will MM give me better articulation and separation of instruments? I guess I thought the moving coils were mostly farther down on the quality curve...

Terri; the high output moving coil cartridge you are currently using has a sound that is perhaps more like a moving magnet cartridge than a typical low output moving coil cartridge. That's a broad generalization, I know, but the Eroica H is more like Goldring's 1012GX (and other MM cartridges I've used) than either the AT33PTG or the DV-20XL or a Karat 17D3. That's with my setup anyway.

Moving coil cartridges occupy a very wide spectrum of price, quality, and sound characteristics. Generally, the more you spend, the better the cartridge. But there are certainly exceptions and broad benches on the way to the top.

It's easy to suggest a particular cartridge to someone but difficult to know if the recommendation is really what they are looking for. My advice is to do some homework and learn more about the cartridges being offered in the price range you're considering. Read reviews, read forum comments, and read manufacturer's descriptions to get a sense of what's out there and if they might have the characteristics you're after. Then you can ask for specific advice about how your choices might sound with your setup.

Tom

i second the ortofon 2m black