I need audition advice

You're Welcome Dennis. I don't know what actual VPI you are presently using, but in general, VPIs can tend to sound in the "warmer" category. Cartridge selection is a synergy selection process. Rule of thumb? Warm + warm = warmer = coloration. I prefer neutral. Neutral = balanced.

I had mentioned price point initially because I have found that my successful cartridge selections generally tend to run in the lower ranges of my allotted budget. The Clearaudio Aurum Beta S Mk.II I am now using, costs less than other cartridges I also own. But to me, is the clear sonic winner. Female voice and acoustic jazz sound so real, it's scary. The Virtuoso wood once again, starts to lean towards the "warm" direction. But I'm not sure if that is the characteristic of the cartridge, or the cartridge plus the VPI.

I also own the original Aurum Beta. Clearaudio seems to have addressed and refined every fallshort of the original Aurum with the new "S" version. It also happens to work extremely well in conjunction with my VPI.

Once again, proof that "costlier" does not neccesarilly represent "better"....... To my ears.

Ed.

I have arum beta S and VPIscout and am very happy with full rich,detailed sound

How about a Decca London. Be brave - get a a good one, say a new Super Gold and you might ne in heaven

Ed, can you tell us how you found the Aurum Beta S different from the original? I heard the original a couple of times and would agree that it needed improvement. Thanks

4yanx, the best way for me to describe the original Aurum Beta compared to the "S" version was "congested". My original Aurum Beta has a plastic body. The "S" version is lead bodied. The sound stage is more defined. It is almost as if you could walk between the instruments with the "S". The original Aurum Beta seemed as if the musicians and instruments were "piled on top of one another". The lower registers of bass are tighter, snappier, and less wooly. The "S" is extremely dynamic. It would seem that the original had more dynamic "compression" relative to the "S".

Although the midrange, (especially female voice) is extremely natural and "real" with both the newer and older versions, the "S" seems to better define the differences between the louder and softer voice passages. Also, it seems the "S" is more compliant, extracting more of the micro information (breathing, fingers sliding up and down a guitar's fretboard, air passing over a saxaphone's reed, dampening pads on a grand piano's strings, etc).

I'll tell you 4yanx, this thing is very impressive for a MM. I own MCs that cost close to three times the price of this "S", and it is literally impossible to define the differences. I find it to be extremely natural with very little accentuation (if any) throughout the complete frequency range.

The real standout characteristic of the "S" would have to be the dynamics. I was listening to Return to Forever "Romantic Warrior" a few evenings ago. Lenny White, (drums) uses a very tight 12" snare in this particular cut (The Romantic Warrior, last cut, first side). When he hits it, it makes your eyes twitch. Leading edge transients are snappy, and very accurate.

I'm not big on recommendations, but this thing kicks ass. It would absolutely be worth a listen, at the very least. IMHO.

Regards, Ed.