Should I try a MC cartridge and phono pre?

When I went through the MC stage of life my TT was an Empire 598, and later a Sony PS X800. Neither are reputed to be SOTA, but in both TT the MC sounded great. I have since gone back to MM (for practical reasons) but the TT was never an obstacle to MC performance. On the contrary, the higher tracking force used with MC (at least the Ortofon I used) would tend to make it LESS sensitive to arm characteristics.

Eldartford,

No offense, but during your MC days did you actually hear a more SOTA rig in your system? If not, how can you possibly know whether those limited rigs hindered your MC's performance? You never gave the cartridge a chance.

MCs are more responsive to low level input than MMs. That's what makes them better, but of course that also makes them more revealing of problems. The fact that MCs respond optimally at higher VTFs does *nothing* to isolate them from a mismatched arm or a poor table. The sloppy arm bearings and motor rumble of my old TT were *vastly* more audible with my Shelter 901 than with my ADC XLM MkII, despite VTF being 1/2g higher with the Shelter. As a matter of fact, higher VTF's will actually emphasize some problems. For example, if a TT is susceptible to stylus drag effects then higher VTFs will make things worse.

Maintaining well-matched components while upgrading is more likely to satisfy and less likely to cause problems than having one component that is head-and-shoulders above other, closely linked components.

Thank you all, I guess it's decision time. My TT is in a separate all vintage system, of gear that I purchased in the 70s. Everything still sounds great, but partly for sentimental reasons I wasn't planning to change any of it, except for cables, interconnects, and the cartridge. I would still like to improve the overall sound though, if possible. I was thinking about a modest improvement like a Creek pre and possibly a Denon 103R cartridge, or is there a MM that would sound just as good at this price point?
If I decide to get another TT, I would probably put it into the newer "digital" rig.
Thanks again, Sonny

If you want to keep the retro kick alive and go MC, the Denon is an appropriate choice. If you lend credence to the MM / matching argument in this thread, here's another suggestion: a Shure V15VxMR.

The V15VxMR is the latest in a legendary lineage that began in 1964... it's still an "editor's choice" reference MM cartridge, and has been improved in every new version. It's a very fine MM cart with great bass, trackability and toe-tapping pace. I happen to run an early '80s V15 Type IV cart (new stylus) on my Michell Gyro SE/Rega RB600. This is very much a case of the "upgrade order" suggested by Dougdeacon - I haven't bought a new 'cart since getting the new 'table and arm, I like the V15 just fine!

Whatever you do, best of luck.

Dougdeacon...To be more precise, the limitations of my TT did not prevent me from hearing a rather significant improvement with the MC pickup. Perhaps the MC would have been even better with an exotic high end TT, but the MC in the existing TT was something I could afford, and was reasonable value for the money. The TT upgrade is for the "cost-no-object" folks.

Incidentally, the Shure V15MR is what I had before, and what I have gone back to now. Recommended for those who retain vinyl as a secondary source. Darned good sounding, practical, trouble-free, inexpensive.