Cartridge for Michell Gyro SE and SME 309

I don't know if this will help you, but I have a Michell Gyro Dec turntable that I bought from a local stereo store. It was their demo table that was up and running, so I had the opportunity to hear it before I bought it. The sale included the cartridge, which is a Benz Micro Reference. I like it so much that I still don't feel compelled to change it. 

Grado cartridges certainly aren't MC, so I'm a bit confused.

@dogberry i know it’s not MC but MI, I wanted to try it if it’s a good match to my TT.

@tonykay I am intrigued by Benz but I heard awhile ago that it’s hard to get. I will check it out. Thanks.

I see. MI cartridges are well worth experiencing. In your price range you could easily fit a Nagaoka MP-500, or a Soundsmith Aida. I'd take either over a Grado.

One of my arms is a 309, and it holds a Soundsmith Sussurro. It's a lovely combination. I do have one of the more expensive Grados (Statement 3) but it struggles to keep up.

Just FYI, there is a Michell MC cartridge for sale here on Audiogon (The Music Room), within your stated budget. You might check it out.

Has anyone heard Hana Umami Blue? Heard good things about this. 

You will do much better with a Soundsmith Aida. The Aida has a more advanced stylus profile than the Grado and is also an MI cartridge. Dealing with Soundsmith, IMHE, is better than dealing with Grado although Grado is not bad. The Aida will work perfectly with your arm. You do not get the same level of tracking with a moving coil cartridge until you get to the ones with really small low impedance coils under 2 ohms like the SL Lyras, the My Sonic Labs series and the Air Tight cartridges. All are very expensive and sonically the Aida comes VERY close. Untrained listeners would never know the difference. 

Be aware that MI cartridges do not always mate well with a step up transformer, if you are using a step up transformer.

@lewm I have Aesthetix Rhea so I am covered in that area. I am still looking and have yet to decide. Still looking at different cartridges in my price range. 

Just saw Michell engineering CUSIS S MC. I did not know Michell is making cartridges. What do you guys think about this cartridge?

Well bought Hana ML low output and will mount it on Saturday and see if I made the correct decision.  

@couger4u 

I had the ML on my Technics GAE w/309 arm into a Modwright 9.0 & it sounded brite. I moved the ML to the GAE arm that's now on a Modded 1200 & it's a nice match. The 309 has an Otho Cadenza Black now, but it's more than you want to spend.

@danmar123 thanks for the post. I hope it is not too bright on my gyro SE otherwise I would have to list it for sale.