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What cartridge for VPI and SOTA

I have a dilemma here. I have a VPI Scout with the 9" tapered tone arm and am getting a SOTA Sapphire with an SME 309 arm. I have a Shelter 901 MkII and a Dynavector XX-2 MkII and do not know which one I should pair with what table.

The SOTA will be on my BAT all tube system (including the P5 tube phono) with Sonus Faber Liuto speakers. The VPI will be with the new ModWright tube preamp and 100 SE amp. The Mod has the tube phono built in to it. The speakers are Totem Hawks for now but am contemplating a nice monitor for this system.

Any input/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Rich
ksl822

Showing 1 response by minorl

minorl
1,014 posts
 
Sorry, but it really depends on your price level and what sound quality you want. But, price point dictates everything. There are good to great cartridges within each price point range. I could be annoying and just list the most expensive cartridge and be done, but as with most of us, we have price limitations. In my humble opinion, the Sota Star Saphire is better by far than the VPI Scout. But, that is only my opinion. I have found that the SME IV, IV.IV or V arms are much better than the 309 and again depending on price, the IV is easily obtainable for not much. But, the 309 is a really nice arm also. But, do you want to spend <$1,000 or $1,000 to $2,000 or greater for the cartridge? can you borrow a cartridge from your favorite dealer to use for a week?

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