2021 J.A. Michell Gyro SE w/ Tecnoarm A cartridge synergy

Matt, the Dynavector line sounds like what I'm after as my musical tastes fall very much in line with what you've described. The bulk of my vinyl collection is Rock and Jazz with a fair amount of Metal and Punk Rock, plus some Ska/Reggae, Classical, Synthwave and even a sprinkle of Hip Hop to round things out. 
If I go that route I'll likely go with the 20X2L, unless I can find a smokin deal on a demo or something. There was a brand-new XX-2 MKII listed here just today that sold for $1100 or $1200 that I missed. That would have been sweet.

There are LOMC cartridges under $2k, but you need a mid compliance cartridge, the latest version of AT ART-9 for example. Dynavector cartridges are good, I like KARAT series the most taking in count your price range. I'm not sure why having same tonearm as yours makes anyone a cartridge expert in your eyes? Technically any mid compliance cartridge is well matched, the question is what cartridge is good for your ears in your system.     

I can tell you I have listened to REGA tables and Thorens tables Audio Technica tables, tables from Project not there junk Im talking Xtension 10 with Clear Audio Ebony V2 MM. None gave me the lively,detailed,sound thats great for rock and roll and blues and jazz all together! Sure, some tables are awesome with Jazz and Blues but they are too laid back for say Led Zepp, Deep Purple, Black Crows ect.... This is why I love this table and Arm/cart combo! Everything I listen too sounds correct on it. And that wasnt the case with the others.
Matt

Thanks for the info Matt. 

I forgot to mention what I have downstream. Gyro SE > Graham Slee Elevator EXP > G.S. Era Gold Reflex  > Parasound Halo C1 > B&K ST1400 mkII > Acoustic Research Phantom 8.3 and Earthquake Supernova sub
A bit unorthodox but pleasing to my ears and my wallet.

I Have a J.A. Michell Gyro SE with Techno arm 2, I use a Dynavector 20X2L and I also have a Manley Chinook phono pre, this combo really shines bright, the music just sounds RIGHT, its tough to explain when your system is sounding fantastic with PRAT off the charts! Also, the beauty of tone and colors are of a very wide wide range. The Gyro SE with any of the Dynavector cartridges I highly recommend! Excellent synergy!

The rest of my system is .......Dynaudio Contour 3.0 speakers, Manley labs Jumbo Shrimp Linestage, McIntosh MC352 power amp, REL Britaina B2 sub, Morrow Audio IC cables, Nordost SPM speaker cables. Salamander rack.

And what Ive found over time is that my system is now super sensitive and will show lousy, crappy recorded vinyl as soon as the needle touches the record, so having a excellent original clean sounding vinyl is a absolute must!

Matt M

Turntable is irrelevant, but the tonearm mass is important, your arm is basically a Rega, 12g mass.

Read this article first. Then make sure you know your cartridge dynamic compliance at 10Hz (not at 100Hz like all Japanese carts, you have to convert 100hz compliance to 10Hz using x 1.7 formula).

Popularity of cartridges means nothing, it depends on the country and local distribution and their PR.

Do not use a low compliance cartridges on your tonearm!

Do not expect a $700-1500 MC are any better than MI or MM at this price. Most likely you can buy much better MM or MI if your budget is $700-1500 ! And I hope you understand that buying a used MC you will have to retip or rebuild it, manufacturer will not get it from you, so you will have to rebuild it (every 600-2000 hrs , depend on stylus profile) using different parts from a third party retipper, it will take time ( about 5 months if retipper is well inown and busy person like SoundSmith) and it will cost you extra money.

In case with MM or MI you van just buy new stylus replacement and install it yourself, it will be genuine stylus and your cart will always sound as expected by the manufacturer. Some MM available with top quality cantilevers (Boron, Sapphire, Ruby ...) and advanced profiles (MicroRidge, LineContact, MicroLine ... ).


Even fully compatible cartridges and tonearms may not give you a perfect sound you are looking for, and no one can tell you what you are looking for in terms of sound.