Cartridge recomendation for Garard 301 and Ikeda IT-345CRI

I installed the P-3G on my FR-64S to refresh my memory of its sonic presentation. ’Big and bold is good’ you say. Well, that is actually a pretty good description of the P-3G sound. Also, it has a very low noise floor, almost CD like. Without the (surface) noise, the music leaps out of the silence. The resulting dynamic ’jump’ makes for a big and bold presentation. Bass is deep, strong and tight. Mids are present and slightly forward. Highs do not stick out, but are not rolled off either. Does this sound ’polite’ to you?

No. That sounds interesting. Love jumpy dynamics.

I’ve just fitted an SPU Royal N to my arm, a Schröder rather than an Ikeda but if you want big and bold this is it, it’s also fluid and engaging. From what I can glean the Ikeda is high mass so should be ideal.

Thanks for the SPU recommendation. Why the  Royal N in particular?

" The SPU Royal N provides the same sound reproduction properties as the SPU Royal GM series " - Ortofon 

Royal N is just a conventional version of the headshell integrated SPU Royal G which i enjoyed the most from 3 different SPU, because Royal has the most advanced stylus tip: Ortofon Replicant-100. 

I’m a big fan of the SPU sound as well. They have a recognizable ’family’ sound, but with interesting variations within that ’theme’. In fact the Phasemation shares some of their characteristics (remember ’big and bold’). The Royal is one of the more detailed as a result of the advanced tip, same as the SPU Gold Reference. The Anniversary models are very special but no longer available new, although some dealers still have some stock of the A95 (usually costing > $2k).

I can’t use a G or A type SPU with my arm, so it had to be an N. As for the Royal, I’ve used fine line styli for 30 years so that was more or less habit. There’s a bit more choice with a G type but for me it would be the Royal or the Century purely from prejudice.