MM cartridge choices


Narrowed my choices down to Clearaudio Virtuoso II or Grado Reference... Tonearm; Clearaudio TQ-1 , Turntable; Custom built, Preamp; Herron MM, Amps; Joule Electra 160's, Speakers; Merlin VSM-M + BAM, Volume control; dual transformer type S&B, Cables; Nirvana SX and Hovland. Anyone with first hand experience with a TQ-1 tonearm would be very helpfull. Thank You All.
dredster

Showing 1 response by egoss

The Grado will give you a huge soundstage, decent detail, deep bass, and very "chesty" (not in a bad way) vocals. A top-end Rega will give you more detail, less bass - but better bass control, less of a soundstage, and more "natural" sounding vocals, but they are quite a bit brighter. If your speakers are a tad soft, the Rega might sound great. I don't think any Goldring would match up well with your system, and I personally don't think the Shure would make you happy. I haven't heard the Virtuoso, but it sure is liked by a lot of folks. If you can demo any one of these from a cooperative local dealer - my best recommendation for a cartridge purchase - your choice will be a lot easier.
Trying to help, not offend,
Ed