I haven't heard those cartridges but thanks for the tip. The best comparison that I can make is that over the years I have had a lot of Japanese made Cartridges like the Dynavector Ruby and the Talisman etc. and when I listened to a Grado the high end sounded smoother on my system. I have thought long and hard about just getting another Ruby but with ribbon tweeters I am afraid of a high frequency tip up. I am open to suggestions so thanks and I will read up on the ones you mentioned. The experts are always extrolling the virtues of the mega buck (car priced) cartridges. Which Van den Hul model did you have? dave
I am considering the Grado Statement cartridge
I am considering buying a Grado Statement cartridge (top model). I am trying to get feedback as to how it performs. I currently have a Koetsu Rosewood which I will keep and use.
I have at VPI TNT 5 and with a 12.5 tonearm. I will get an additional tone arm wand for the Grado. When the Koetsu wears out I can get it rebuilt as a Rosewood signature.
I am trying to to extend the life of the Koetsu by using two cartridges but I want to have the same quality of sound. To upgrade beyond the Rosewood is very expensive and there are not too many places for me to audition them. I was thinking that the Grado is a safe choice in that it has a smooth sound vs the HF boost of other MC's. I have a Borbely Jfet low noise MC preamp feeding a DEQX digital speaker correction/room correction preamp using digita crossovers to feed my bi-amp speakers. Reading all I can on this forum it seems that most prefer low output MC's. I know the Grado is a moving Iron at about .5mv output vs the .4mv output of the Koetsu. I also know that there are a lot of Koetsu grey market knockoffs out there and buyer beware on the used market. Let me know what you think? If I could afford it I would get a Urushi. I might even try the top Dynavectors but they are way beyond my budget.
I have at VPI TNT 5 and with a 12.5 tonearm. I will get an additional tone arm wand for the Grado. When the Koetsu wears out I can get it rebuilt as a Rosewood signature.
I am trying to to extend the life of the Koetsu by using two cartridges but I want to have the same quality of sound. To upgrade beyond the Rosewood is very expensive and there are not too many places for me to audition them. I was thinking that the Grado is a safe choice in that it has a smooth sound vs the HF boost of other MC's. I have a Borbely Jfet low noise MC preamp feeding a DEQX digital speaker correction/room correction preamp using digita crossovers to feed my bi-amp speakers. Reading all I can on this forum it seems that most prefer low output MC's. I know the Grado is a moving Iron at about .5mv output vs the .4mv output of the Koetsu. I also know that there are a lot of Koetsu grey market knockoffs out there and buyer beware on the used market. Let me know what you think? If I could afford it I would get a Urushi. I might even try the top Dynavectors but they are way beyond my budget.