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Best Cartridge for VPI Aries orig + JMW 10.5 ?

I have a VPI Aries (original version) and JMW 10.5. They feed an EAR 834p phono stage, mccormack map-1 preamp, rotel 1095 amp, and vienna acoustics beethoven speakers (which are a bit "warm" sounding). I listen to mostly bluegrass, followed by classic rock and jazz. What is the best choice of cartridge at $1500 or less? (any views on the Sumiko Celebration in this set up?) Any thoughts welcomed as I am a bit new at this. (ps. will one day move to all tubes, but likely a few years off).
banjofan

Showing 2 responses by cmk

cmk
397 posts
 
Banjofan
The two carts you are deciding on have different sonic characteristics. Depending on your preferences, warm balanced or detail retrieval, your choice would be a lot easier.
cmk
397 posts
 
Banjofan,
With a good phono stage, the differences between these carts are just personal preferences and are not marked differences.

Having said that, you can tune the cart to match your system's balance using VTA, tracking force, azimuth and anti-skate, so choosing either one of these carts will work.

To answer your question, I'd reckon the Helikon as being in the leaner balanced, while the Celebration as being fuller.

BTW I would tend to associate warm with more bass, rather than the tweeter's silk dome per se.

Happy spinning!
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