favorite phono cartridge

Different cartridges for different tonearms thats for sure. On the other hand it's a lot of fun to try many good once and thats a part of the hobby. How do we know the one we like is the best without trying some others? Upgrade is endless process. I like new ZYX PREMIUM 4D copper with SB2. But some vintage cartridges are so attractive...

Each and every cartridge has its own merits and creators ideas and taste about the music. Imho, dynavector, lyra is in a another taste, benz, koetsu ikeda is another taste. Any one may like any of it, also in different systems, you may hate any of it. If the cartridge and the system favor each other strenghts and weakness, that cartridge would be the ones best cartridge. Zyx is not color free cartridge, but again imho, it is as close as the neutral cartridge. Thats whay I think it is a very good candidate for the best cartridge. Also i have many cartridges, and i do not have any zyx right now.

But analog has too much varaibles, even a damping oil may create a huge difference, so best is very dependent on system, more then personel taste. What a hard question to answer :))

I do not own one. But If I were to chose then a Van Den Hul the Crimson would be a contender. Or a Clearaudio Gold finger. Both well out of my budget.

+1 Sdcampbell on the Statement 1. I never would have imagined how beautiful this cartridge sounds. I got mine 2 years ago as a throw-in on a Scoutmaster I bought here on Agon. It was attached to the arm and the seller did not want to take it off to tell me what model it was, so he guessed it must be one of the cheaper woodies. It is just so much nicer than all the big Benzes and other MCs I have been playing for 30 years.

Mr Campbell, I noticed in your system that you have yours feeding a JC3+. Are you using the MM or the MC side for it? I had no choice as My Thor only supports MC @47k. It has never made me want more controls to change, but I am curious how other Grado Statement 1 lovers set thiers up.

Hi Mcbuddah. The JC3+ has three settings: MC, MM, and a "hybrid" setting specifically for lower output moving iron (MI) cart's such as Grado's and Soundsmith. What this setting provides is the 47K ohm loading common to MM cart's with the gain needed by MC cart's, and it's the setting I use with my Grado S1.