I have the Statement. Prior carts included the Grado Sonata, an Ortofon and the Denon DL-103. I am very happy with the Statement. It is a significant leap forward over the Sonata ... which was quite good itself. Differences between the Sonata and the Statement include the Statement's greater ability to track high frequency passages without producing sibilants; greater detail and soundstage; more realistic decay; and deeper, more realistic bass.
As mentioned elsewhere in this post, this is all system-dependent and personal. In more laid-back systems, the edginess of the Denon's moving coil design might provide better synergy. My system is designed for detail with musicality: a modified Plinius 8200 MkII integrated; modified Plinius Jarrah phono stage; Nordost SPM cables; Lieder all silver ICs; Snell B Minor speakers w/ a Snell sub (powered by a 500 watt Hsu sub amp). With the silver cabling, what is elsewhere described as the "warm" sound of the Statement works very well.
As mentioned elsewhere in this post, this is all system-dependent and personal. In more laid-back systems, the edginess of the Denon's moving coil design might provide better synergy. My system is designed for detail with musicality: a modified Plinius 8200 MkII integrated; modified Plinius Jarrah phono stage; Nordost SPM cables; Lieder all silver ICs; Snell B Minor speakers w/ a Snell sub (powered by a 500 watt Hsu sub amp). With the silver cabling, what is elsewhere described as the "warm" sound of the Statement works very well.