Advice on cartridges!

Please be a little more specific. Are you looking to stay with a high-output coil? I don't know the capabilities of your particular preamp. Also, elaborate upon your budget for the upgrade. There are more than a few well-versed "analogue addicts" on the site that will give you excellent advice. Those blue points are fairly well know for the "hard" sound you noted. A reasonable upgrade that I have had some experience with is the Benz line (LO.4 in particular but they also make a medium and high output version of the same cartridge - now in "series 2" I believe) Much better in the trebles, more musical and detailed. Good luck! -John

Just to elaborate on the previous post, it's more the structural rigidity of an arm vs. its mass per se that makes for better compatibility with MC carts - due their more 'sensitive' motor assembly and suspensions. MCs put a lot of energy back into the arm, so closer tolerances allow better "handling" (if you will) and less "wiggle" at the stylus/groove interface (as I understand it) I say that if your budget (and preamp) allows it, go fer 'da low output coil! Again, depending on your budget, something like a Koetsu or Allaerts would really *shine* on a rig as nice as yours! -John