Cartridge upgrade????


Ok so finally I am at a good place with my Kuzma Stab S-12 using a wonderful Hana SL cartridge fed into Bent Audi Sut to Sutherland PHd3...into my amplifier. I think it really sounds good but got an itch to maybe upgrade to a higher end MC cartridge.

I was considering the Air-Tight PC 7 but not really sure if it is worth it to spend all the $$, or maybe an Ortofon Cadenza  or????

Anyone have experience moving up from the Hana SL, and if so may I ask to what? No need to do it in a hurry but thinking that maybe this would be a good path, and mostly I am listening to jazz...lots of horns and small trios.

 

thank you all in advance....

 

 

rwanda

I am wed to Ortofon Cart's from the era of the Kontrapunkt's through to the later produced  Cadenza's, that are also born from Trickle Down Technologies.

The family sound of the Trickle Down Technologies works well for myself, and when listening to the Flagship Models that are containing the cutting edge design and materials that a Trickle Down Model might inherit a small proportion off.

The Flagship Models family sound can be very gathered and offer an increased impression of betterment of the Trickle Down models.

I do seem to be regularly in the Company of Ortofon users as well, there are certain models that are well liked in the UK for the transparency offered.

I do listen to other Cart's from Japanese designs, but am not hearing these in my system on my TT >Tonearm.

I have been very impressed by the Japanese Cart's even though, I will say there is a perception of a slightly more noticeable underpinning of the lower Bass Notes being present and a sense of richness to the overall presentation when listened to.  

Agree with the Delos.  Great cartridge.  I have zero experience with SUTs so I cannot opine on compatibility.

Be aware of longevity. I suggest that you consider $/hour before a retip.

Another thing to consider is how to keep your stylus from wearing out. My ultrasonic cleaning system was getting on for 3K, but since my cartridge costs twice that to rebuild, ultrasound has been cost-effective - in fact, it’s been essentially free.

I jumped from Hana ML to Ortofon Cadenza Black.  Very noticeable improvement in transparency and detail.  I like it much better than the Hana ML.  Almost 3X the money so should be better.  

 

Thank you all for your input.

I am using the Kuzma Ref 313 12" arm (non VTA) which I like a lot. |After some thought and speaking with another member of the community I will forgo the PC-7 and am looking at some other choices:

Ikeda 9TS

My Sonic Lab

Koetsu Blackline

 

I was interested in the Lyra Delos but mu local dealer thought it might sound lean in my system....anyone have experience with it and can share? thank you al