With your rig, I would stay away from anything with a Shibata or microline stylus. They require spot on alignment and longer (lower tracking error) arms. The Hana 'E' (for elliptical) H (High Output) is a screaming deal. Forgiving stylus profile, high output eliminates MC preamp or transformer and additional cable complexity. At $475, you still get the MC goodness and detail that, as good as they are, an Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black can't quite deliver.
Cartridge Opinions - Sorry
Yeah, another dumb "what's your opinion on these cartridges" thread. Back in the late 80's we had dealers where you could listen to the stuff.
So anyhow I have a Linn LP12 with Ittok arm and a 30 year old Audioquest B200L cartridge. I'm running it through the phono stage of a Jeff Rowland Coherence One into a Spectral DMA90 through a set of Kef R300's.
I prefer a little more laid back sound (err on the side of forgiving instead of fatiguing) but I like a lot of upper end detail, precise soundstaging, air, etc.
So far I'm considering an Ortofon Quintet S Black, Hana SL or a Benz wood - something at or below the $1k level.
I'd love to hear any opinions, suggestions, and experiences with those cartridges or others in the price range. I could possibly go higher if there is something out there that really shines for less than $1,500.
Thanks.
So anyhow I have a Linn LP12 with Ittok arm and a 30 year old Audioquest B200L cartridge. I'm running it through the phono stage of a Jeff Rowland Coherence One into a Spectral DMA90 through a set of Kef R300's.
I prefer a little more laid back sound (err on the side of forgiving instead of fatiguing) but I like a lot of upper end detail, precise soundstaging, air, etc.
So far I'm considering an Ortofon Quintet S Black, Hana SL or a Benz wood - something at or below the $1k level.
I'd love to hear any opinions, suggestions, and experiences with those cartridges or others in the price range. I could possibly go higher if there is something out there that really shines for less than $1,500.
Thanks.