Celebration vs Blackbird

The Sonic Frontiers is no slouch, and NOT a budget phono stage which must be replaced instantly: Sonic Frontiers is a very serious, respected name, and the SFP-1 Signature is a true high-end item even by lofty Audiogon standards. There will ALWAYS be better phono stages out there, at least in some respects (very rare to be better in all once you hit a certain level of quality), so no need to be advising him to ditch it and and stampede out to his nearest high-end audio dealer. I'm with you on your rationale re. the Celebration - btw, did you buy it yet? - as I too favour cartridges which reliably sound musical on ALL (at least most) records, and which reduce surface noise. The issue of whether super-radical sylus profiles ultra-sensitive to VTA and dirt are more trouble than they're worth - i.e. being forced to change VTA for each record, having to clean each LP before play, etc., which would personally have me take out a hammer to destroy the offending item - has arisen in this forum before. I've had my eye on the Celebration for quite some time now, would love to read a mini-review by you! A classic low-output MC in the mold of the Celebration (which follows in its inspiration such classics as Supex, Koetsu, Kiseki) pays enormous dividends, in a certain ineffable reproduction of sound which is more akin to sampling fine wines (flavour and beauty as opposed to the cold technical perfection of so many transducers today), and in longevity: I've had my Kiseki for 15 years now, and though it isn't set up at all times, it certainly has very many hours on it, and still performs as it did in its early days. This is a common experience too with Koetsus. Buy it, set it up once, and enjoy! Then get back to us. I may be following in your footsteps, as an alnico-magnetted MC certainly tickles my fancy.