Cartridge or cable upgrade

Surprised that no one has yet suggested the Audio-Technica 150 MLX moving magnet cartridge ($479) as a candidate to consider. I have no experience with it, but a number of our particularly experienced and knowledgeable members have described it in the past as being among the very best cartridges in its price class. And in contrast to the A-T cartridge that was mentioned earlier, it would not require a step-up device.

While I'm not 100% certain of how ideal a match it would be for your particular tonearm, its relevant specs (weight and compliance) are roughly similar to those of the OC9 MkII and the DX5. They are also not greatly different than those of your present cartridge, considering especially that the 150 MLX's relatively low compliance (for a moving magnet) of 10 ucm/dyne is spec'd at 100 Hz, and I believe would be significantly higher if spec'd on what I believe is the more usual basis of 10 Hz.

Its relatively low recommended load capacitance range of 100 to 200 pf means that you would want to choose a phono cable having low capacitance (e.g., 20 pf per foot or less, for typical lengths of say 5 feet or so). I wouldn't be surprised if the very inexpensive Blue Jeans LC-1, 12 pf/foot and double-shielded, proved to be a fine choice.

And hey, given that a significant upgrade of the turntable will undoubtedly cost a great deal more than both of these replacements, you can always do that at a future time.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Most high quality step-up transformers (SUTs) or active step-up devices sell for well upwards of $1K, and the lowest price SUT I am aware of that I would give any consideration to costs $750.

I see no reason to go with a low output cartridge in the price range you are considering, or anything close to that price range.

Regards,
-- Al

My perception of the prevailing consensus of those members having particularly extensive analog experience is that in general a top notch turntable and tonearm coupled with a merely good cartridge will handily outperform a top notch cartridge coupled with a merely good turntable and tonearm.

But in this particular situation we are not dealing with generalities, we are dealing with a very specific set of circumstances, including cost constraints that appear to preclude a significant upgrade of the turntable/tonearm, at least in the near term. Although I have no specific familiarity with the present Pro-ject turntable, under the circumstances I would ignore general philosophy, and repeat my earlier recommendation of the A-T 150MLX + Blue Jeans LC1 (both of them together, which would cost a total of around $520; you might also need a plain piece of insulated hookup wire for the ground connection).

I used to own the initial version of the Grado Reference Sonata. It was OK, and did nothing that was blatantly wrong, but I strongly suspect based on inputs that have been provided here by particularly knowledgeable members that the 150MLX would be much more of an upgrade. Also, keep in mind that Grados hum in some turntables, due to the lack of shielding in their wood bodies. I have no particular knowledge of the Dynavectors that have been discussed.

If you later see fit to upgrade the turntable, I would not expect that it would be difficult to find a suitable upgrade that would be compatible with the 150MLX. You would just want to avoid tonearms having particularly high effective mass, that are particularly designed with low-compliance low output moving coils in mind.

Finally, if my earlier comments about the 150MLX came across as overly cautionary, that was not my intent. Pretty much everything I said along those lines applies similarly to all of the other cartridges which have been suggested. I was just being thorough in expressing a SLIGHT uncertainty about the tonearm/cartridge matchup, given as I say that I have no specific experience with either product, and I am therefore not in a position to vouch for the combo with 100.00% certainty.

Regards,
-- Al