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Cartridge for the JMW 10.5i

I've been looking for a cartridge to replace my Shelter 501 which I never really liked neither on the JMW 9 Signature nor the JMW 10.5i. It sounds better on the latter though with 3 grams added mass... Nevertheless, no matter what I do I can't get rid of some graininess and sibilance on some LPs (not only SH but new as well) and I simply refuse not to listen to my record collection because of this.

Also, in my system Shelter 501 sounds as if there were three separate layers of frequencies that don't mix really well because the midband was a bit thinner, although when the recording is good (let's say MoFi Aimee Mann How Am I Different...) there's nothing wrong with it and it's excellent.

I'm looking for a warm sounding cartridge that will be a good tracker and one that will serve vocals and winds/brass and acoustic instruments well.

I was looking at the Dynavector (from XX2 to DV-1), ZYX (Fuji - 4D), Transfiguration Phoenix, Koetsu Rosewood.
I was suggested to consider Soundsmith and Lyra as well...

Will my tonearm be able to optimize any of those cartridges or should I look somewhere else...
128x128janhavjar
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
BTW, in anticipation of the flame throwers and owner/defenders, don’t shoot the messenger; look at the reality of the situation.

People who really know analog speak with their wallets. All that’s required is a search of Audiogon’s most knowledable vinyl enthusiasts i.e. albertporter, dertonarm, syntax, teres, thomackris, dougdeacon, rauliruegas, viridian, downunder, t_bone, etc. and see what tonearm(s) they employ.

You won’t find a jmw among them.
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
What phono amp do you use. Has it crossed your mind that the problem may be the phono amp and not the cart?
mcmprov
57 posts
 
I have heard that the new arms match better with cartridges like Shelter. I have a VPI Scout and JMW9. It was pretty easily to sell my arm, and I ordered a 9T in its place. I think a 10.5T wand would also be available (not sure if I have the model number correct...its that wand that goes with the Classic) I've not yet received the new wand yet, but it is a relatively low cost upgrade. I thought the Scout sounds nice with my Shelter, but just wanted to see what type of improvement I could make.
goatwuss
877 posts
 
The Shelter is way too stiff for the JMW to track properly. These arms have a natural tendency to have sibilance distortion. I'd look for a higher compliance cartridge if you want to stick with the JMW. Better yet, as Audiofeil mentions, replace the tonearm with something like an SME, a Triplanar, or a Graham.
janhavjar's avatar
janhavjar OP
7 posts
 
The phono is NAT Signature which replaced the Whest PS.20. It even smoothened and tighten the edges, so I think it shouldn't have anything to do with the phono stage...

I played with the idea of a different tonearm and it may well happen that instead of getting a new cart I'll be getting a new tonearm...

This will probably sound stupid but could one have an idea of how will a better cartridge perform on a tonearm if one's judgement came from a performance of a cheaper cart?
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