The price jump is part of my issue Matt. A few years ago this same cart was $200 cheaper. At $450 I wouldn't have too many reservations on giving it a shot. At $650 it's starting to get into 2M Black territory, and $1K carts aren't that far off. I could justify the price jump if I saw that there was some sort of improvement done to the cartridge. For example :the elliptical stylus was upgraded to their micro ridge nude diamond. I've yet to see any mention of any updated improvement that would justify a huge price increase.
I'm not saying that the cartridge doesn't sound as good or better than any $600ish cartridge that is available, but it's now in the range of a lot more competition.
Perhaps the price jump is why my local dealer is suggesting it so strongly? If MSRP has increased $200 while dealer cost increase was marginal, that would yield a much bigger profit margin. Or perhaps they truly think that I would enjoy the 10x5 over the Concept MC.