RE: Table/arm prior to cart -- I think I want to get all three at the same time. At this point, I'm just exploring what's out there and trying to see if there's some carts I've been overlooking.
Cart recommendation for a Joule Electra OPS2 Phono
I have a new rig coming from Joule-Electra (monos, pre, & phono) to mate up with my new also-on-order Merlin MXR speakers.
Now that I've got that stuff finalized, I want to start thinking about a new table+arm+cart. Table & arm aren't finalized, but I do like the Raven One + TW 10.5 arm. We'll see.
But the question I have the most concern about is the cart. Jud says that the phono should be good to go with >.35mV, but that .45mV (or better, presumably) would be "ideal". Reading elsewhere, I'm assuming that's because that going too low in output might be problematic due to system noise. Not sure. Anyway, that does seem to rule out the ultra-low output MC carts.
I posted over on AA that I was looking at the following carts: Lyra Kleos (.5mV), Grado The Statement 1 (.5mV), or perhaps a Benz Micro SHR Gullwing (.7mV). For arbitrary reasons, I picked a $3k price limit. And for whatever reason, I'm going to pass on a step-up for now (though I might not rule it out in the future). I'm also thinking ultra-low (Koetsu & Denon) and ultra-high compliance cartridges (Soundsmith) might be a bad fit.
Anything else come to mind? Jud recommends the Benz line, but I'm wondering if the new Lyra might be a more neutral fit as the rest of the system is already "pretty tubey".
Suggestions and comments welcome.
Now that I've got that stuff finalized, I want to start thinking about a new table+arm+cart. Table & arm aren't finalized, but I do like the Raven One + TW 10.5 arm. We'll see.
But the question I have the most concern about is the cart. Jud says that the phono should be good to go with >.35mV, but that .45mV (or better, presumably) would be "ideal". Reading elsewhere, I'm assuming that's because that going too low in output might be problematic due to system noise. Not sure. Anyway, that does seem to rule out the ultra-low output MC carts.
I posted over on AA that I was looking at the following carts: Lyra Kleos (.5mV), Grado The Statement 1 (.5mV), or perhaps a Benz Micro SHR Gullwing (.7mV). For arbitrary reasons, I picked a $3k price limit. And for whatever reason, I'm going to pass on a step-up for now (though I might not rule it out in the future). I'm also thinking ultra-low (Koetsu & Denon) and ultra-high compliance cartridges (Soundsmith) might be a bad fit.
Anything else come to mind? Jud recommends the Benz line, but I'm wondering if the new Lyra might be a more neutral fit as the rest of the system is already "pretty tubey".
Suggestions and comments welcome.