A cartridge with more bite, please and thank you

FWIW, the Hana was actually a nice sounding match with my Thorens/SME M2-9..

I forgot about the ART9's! Thanks, @blisshifi  /  @audiosaurusrex. That seems like my wheelhouse. Looks like ther are some ART9's still to be found. I'll have to look into the difference between the XA and XI. 

With such a high compliances at 10HZ...like 30+cu's for the ART9 and  20ish for Lyra Delos cartridges, they don't seem like a good match except with very light weight arms? I've relied on matching arm weight to cartridge weight and compliance to thin the field of cartridges...I imagine that may not tell the whole story, especially w/the ART9 as it seems impossible to match that way except with an impossibly light arm! At first blush, they both look to be outside the bounds of poor resonance control - maybe Vinyl Engine's chart is out of date with more modern materials and construction...maybe that still applies to the vintage Alphason...maybe I could use some tutelage....

@dover, that's an interesting suggestion...I'm curious which arms might use the same armboard? Would you happen to know? The Mober subchassis and armboard are one piece, so there's that....

Thanks for the Paua insight - It's not surprising those are the catriidges I'd be drawn to as smooth and warm are pretty much  two of my middle names. I have a diagnosable audio sweet tooth and may have travelled out t the brink. With the Hana it's just too much of a good thing - even for me...I have some confidence that I could find the right cartridge, though.. I appreciate your guidance.

And maybe a Lyra.will do it - I'll read up. Thanks for tthat.

@jasonbourne52 that's an easy enough experiement - escellente. I appreciate the suggestion. Maybe running it a little tail up will harden it up a bit. 

@palasr Richard?! Thanks for that. Didn't you check a bunch of Sylvania 6sn7w's for me back in the day? 

A friend of mine runs a Shelter 7000 on his VPI (Aries 3?) and it sounds really great. Totally different table/arm/system, I know. There doesn't seem to be a lot of Shelter love on the forums, but I thought I'd toss it in the ring. At this point, I think Lyra is out for me - too much 'bite'. What I meant by bite was quicker and sharper leading edge. While Lyra looks to offer that, the emphasis on the treble end and detail turns my attention elsewhere. That leaves

AT ART9xx, Ortofon Cadenza Bronze and....Shelter 901 series

Raising the VTA help a surprising amount! Thanks @jasonbourne52 ...So, I'm less desperately drive, but very interested in the AT ART9 and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, but now have some curiosity around the Lyra Delos, too. I appreciate the input. More than one would is a lot to look forward to - maybe Christmas will bring a couple along to try. Please, baby, please, baby, please!

I have a cork mat that I'm happy with.

The MCS wiring is a little enigmatic and often changed out. Rewiring with the new OCC Alphason wire used in the HR200 isn't too crazy expensive and includes an arm tune up. It can be wired to a DIN or straight through. I'm leaning towards doing it and straight through to avoid extra connections in the signal path, etc....

@palasr doing very well. and i wish the same for you and yours. Happy holidays up there.

@pindac It's true I lean towards mid range upper to lower and bottom end more than upper, at least in the extreme. And, as above, sweet/warm and smooth, but not in the extreme - which is where I'm on the edge of finding myself. So, ART9 has become a front runner based on other's experience with Ortofon still hanging in there based on so many apparent good matches with the Alphason.

Taking the Supratek Syrah into account, the builder has recommended the Denon DL103 in the past and, I believe, Shelter's 501 was based on that design? So, I imagined Shelter to be in the mix...

And what a mix - all these components and tastes. A big chunky delicious soup. Or maybe stew since it's winter and a stew sounds really good right now.  FWIW, I just finished listening to Muddy Water's Folk Singer and it sounded damn good. I think the VTA is getting close!

The search being so subjective in the end and relying on an intuition for reading between the lines, it's always fun and interesting as the collective experience starts to move in a certain direction away from opinion only as experience and evidence starts to mount. 

@lewm  true dat