Moving coil with a bit less leading edge

Your comments might be right on the mark, John. And of course the required changes brought about by different, newly introduced equipment is always fun :-}. Kind thanks to you and others here for the recommendations. Based on what I've read about it, the Allaerts sounds very interesting but it's out of my price range. Denon might be too low on compliance. Otherwise, there's a good crop to consider from here.

Spiritofmusic gave a very interesting idea. These modded 103(R) are really something special, unbeatable for the price. Koetsu Black could be interesting, too. Impressive are also the cheaper Zyx carts...

Syntax, which ZYX models are your recommending as recessed in the treble? I owned an an Airy 3SB briefly and it was the opposite of recessed in the treble.

Wrm...I once owned a high output, copper wired Zyx Airy 3. Found it a bit too "hot" sounding and ultimately fatiguing.

Very interesting that I was about to start a thread on this very topic. I currently use a Lyra Delos, I have a very similar feeling that the leading edge is a bit too emphasised without enough body in the notes that follow, especially the highs which has great extension, detail, shimmer but not enough body. It is somewhat like the sound of Ribbon tweeters compared to dome tweeters. Dome tweeters usually have more body than the more audiophile sounding ribbons IME. But then the Lyra has superb dynamics and detail. Is it not possible to have the detail, dynamics with a natural sounding mids and highs? Aren't we into vinyls to savour the naturality of this medium?