Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Denon 160 or Denon 103 cartridges? You won't have to spend $500 to get pretty good playback.The Denon 103 has been compared favourably to a Shelter 501 and it's whispered to be one of the best MC's ever in the Lenco thread period....The Denon 160 is no slouch either.I think the Project arm effective mass is 11gms so either one would be a good match.
Best $500 cartridge? Dynavector DV-20XH?
I'm looking to upgrade from my Grado Gold cartridge, its about a year old, and i've heard good things about the Dynavector DV-20X 2.5mv output. I have a killer channel islands VPP-1 phono preamp with VAC-1 power supply and custom DH Labs IEC cable. the cartridge is going on a Project carbon arm on a modded Project XPression table that's also a year old. Any suggestions other than Dynavector? What would I gain from upgrading to the $500 range?