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Much better MM cartridge than Shure V15 IV?

Hi, I have a Pro-ject 2 Xperience turntable, and I'm running a Shure V15 IV with Jico SAS stylus on it. I'm wondering how much higher quality MM cartridge can I attach to the carbon Pro-ject 9cc arm without exceeding the capabilities of the turntable/arm combination? Grados tend to hum on this deck unless I shield the motor's EMF. I have not tried anything else yet. What would you suggest as a clear significant cartridge upgrade?
sumaato
sumaato OP
98 posts
 
Marakanetz: Thanks for the Interesting suggestion...seems to have the right specs too. What do you do about stylus replacement? How well does the stylus wear?
griffithds
852 posts
 
Samaato,

If you don't mine me answering your question, I will give you a suggestion. I have 2 of the Virtuoso's. One is original, and the other was sent to Soundsmith for their basic ($150), stylus upgrade. The difference was jaw dropping. I'm sending the other one even though there is nothing wrong with it for the same treatment. Best $150 I ever spent!
ahendler
416 posts
 
Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black
inna
7,132 posts
 
What is your phono stage and the rest of the system? Your music and sound preferences? Before putting $1k cartridge on mid-fi table better take your time. What if you want to upgrade the table first? There are other and much cheaper good MM cartridges: Nagaoka 300 and 500, Goldring 1042, Garrott. Cartridge, within reason, is the least important part of analog front end. If you like Grado you probably won't like Ortofon.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I'd leave the cartridge alone and invest in a really good phono preamp.

Even the best moving magnets will perform only "ok" in that arm. And the Shure V15-IV is no slouch btw.

IMO
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