High end cartridge

+1 Lyra Kleos

I have replaced AT & Linn MCs,  I have an Aesthetix IO Eclipse phonostage. I auditioned multiple cartridges on my TT at my dealers showroom in this price range ($3,500) which was the key for me.

I went with my ears, and haven't looked back.  (or at least refuse to look back)

I have a van den Hul MC One Special. Very neutral, detailed cartridge. On the high side of output for a MC. Website says output is .6 mV, but the box mine came in says .75. (personally signed by AJ van den Hul). Styli are specially shaped according to VDH which makes them exceptionally long lasting and their SQ doesn't degrade over time - they just completely wear out - pretty interesting. You can send them back to van den Hul and they will service it for a reasonable price and bring it back to new specs with only the work needed.

Also, about 2 years ago they switched distributors in the US to VPI (interestingly enough) so if you bought your TT from a dealer, they can sell you a cartridge. As has been said above, phono stage is important - when I switched from the MC setting on my integrated phono stage to an external Sutherland Insight (great value in a PS) it was a dramatic improvement in SQ coming from the MC One Special. When I adjusted the load from 200 to 100 ohms, that further improved the sound.

I will chime in for some feedback on this subject as I too run the most fabulous Whest PS 30 RDT SE, 2019 edition with some custom build stuff from James at Whest and many of the PS 40 RDT components.  

I run a VPI Ares 3 with the super platter and the SME Series IV tonearm.  I have two carts which sound simply amazing with the Whest, the first is a vintage Audio Technica AT20ss MM with a NOS OEM super shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever, the real deal from the factory, not an aftermarket item; I luckily have several in the box NOS AT20ss stylus' on hand.   Whest built one input on the phono stage with a perfectly matched capacitance and gain for the AT20ss as James Henriot also owns one of these cartridges and it's his go to MM, he knows it well.  If you can ever find one of these MM pieces, buy it.   My other cartridge is an Ortofon A90 MC, and it is simply stupendous.   It plays just like the AT20ss, lots of gusto, detailed mid and upper end but with very strong, articulate low end.   The A90 MC is more open on the upper end and its' a little more detailed, but the AT20ss is about 90 to 95% of the A90 MC.    You might be able to find a NOS or very low time AT20ss for around $1K if you got lucky, or you could find a used A90 MC with low time on it for around $2K.   James at Whest also uses the A90 and A95 as his MC selections and he told me that when the stylus wears out to send it to London to Expert Stylus to have their Paratrace cut installed, he said it elevates the A90 to another level.   I take his word on this as I have found the Whest phono stages are the best that I personally have used; they make bullet proof gear.

Can report good results with Ortofon MC, Hana and Zyx, with the ZYX R50 Bloom 3 (entry level) being an Eye Opener...

Would recommend all three.

I’m running an SPU Royal N and getting wonderful results but it taken a lot of very fine adjustment to get there. It always has a full bodied sound but except for a very fine rage of VTA and VTF (~3g) gives a somewhat measured pace to the music, good for classical but not rock. Get them right and it gains a real spring to its step and a large scale and deep soundstage, Now it will rock its socks off if you haven’t overtightened the mounting bolts and on my rm the counterweight grub screw. This is all in the context of a Schröder Reference, I don’t know how much applies to other arms. The arm effective mass should be north of 18g and the cartridge itself weighs in at near 16. VPI are rather coy about the mass of their tonearms, at least on the internet.

A cadenza bronze uses the same stylus as the Royal N (and the Winfield, Anna etc), I think I’d take this over a black, I know someone who loved it in the 11g Naim Aro.

Rebuild cost of the Royal N was a bit over 50% of a new cartridge, VPI have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to antiskate (as Rega do with VTA) but setting it too low resulted in a skewed cantilever after a year.