Best all-around cartridge for 500.00 new

The Grado Sonata is a great choice!!!I have found the Grado woodies and the Rega Tables/arms are a great match.The VTA is right on with this combo.I tried 1 then 2 spacers with my Grado and found the best sound is with no spacers.Hum with my 4.5mv Platinum is no issue at all,unless some low level hum at the end of the LP in the lead out grooves bothers you.Some will say lack of VTA with Rega arms and hum with Rega tables is a reason to stay away from this setup, but I say bull.My analog setup sounds great and I am as particular/neurotic as the next phile'

I can make no comparisons, but be aware of the Dynavector DV-20x (the high output model (2.5mv) will more likely be hum free.) They are $525 in the states; I bought mine from originlive in England for ~$370, total. Going to past the US importer, however has been reported to possibly negate the warranty. My guess is that you could easily get around it if it is a problem, but i think you should know that, just in case. More experienced cartridge (and DV with P25) users are easily found on audioasylum.com. Good luck

the rega/dynavector combo is truly a wonderful pairing. either the 10x4 mk2 or the DV-20 high output, which is a little more expensive.

grado/rega have the notorious hum problem. (sometimes)

I would buy a VTA base if your Rega arm uses spacers.And spend the rest of the money on a Shure V15VxMR. Some are finding that the spacers work ok for them, or find they need no spacers at all, but adjustments in VTA that you can hardly see make a difference.The spacer thing is stone age VTA tech. I bet the Dynavector is very good as they have been making great cartridges for years, but this will sound great too and you can really get the angle correct for once. The Grados are wonderful too but can't match the tracking of the Shure and ARE prone to hum in many tables.You will never really know if you have ANY cartridge set up to it's full potential without the VTA base.