Well, I spent the weekend comparing the ~$150 EDR.9 to the ~$1,200 Ortofon K-B. I've had the K-B for a few months and have loved every minute of listening to it. I broke in the EDR.9 for about 15 hours before doing a head-to-head listen.
Both carts are mounted on swappable Yamaha headshells, easily changed onto and off of my Yamaha YP-D8. The K-B was tracking at the recommended 2.5g, and the EDR at the recommended 1.5g.
I listened to Fasano's version of the Four Seasons, Grateful Dead's Reckoning, Debussy String Quartet, Coltrane and Johnny Hartmann, Norah Jones' first LP, Ella sings the Harold Arlen songbook, Stephan Grappelli & Yehudi Menuhin's collaboration on 1930's music (sorry, I'm at work now and don't have all the titles with me), and Nancy Griffith's live LP One Fair Summer Evening.
Used both a Musical Surrounding Phonomena (cover off for quick changes of settings) and the amazing budget preamp TC-760 (that phonopreamps sells on ebay). I'm presently using a Yamaha RX-V2400 receiver as my source of power, playing LPs in the "Direct Stereo" mode. Speakers are GMA Continuum 1's.
First of all, at the end of the weekend, both carts win. The K-B is a wonderful cart to listen to; so is the EDR.9. Of course, that makes the EDR.9 a much better value, at about 1/8 the cost of K-B.
Soundstage for both carts in my system was comparable. Depth is somewhat limited because I can only place the speakers about 18" away from rear wall. Width was about the same for both carts, with each spreading out about 2 feet beyond outer speaker edges. Height was also comparable.
The differences I did hear were in imaging and instrumental timbre. Keep in mind these were very subtle differences.
On stereo recordings, the K-B seemed to image more precisely. It allowed me to point to a space in between the speakers and "see" a precise point in space where a specific instrument was playing. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that that space was a 4" square imaginary spot. The EDR images wonderfully, but I would be pointing to a 16" square spot. Personally, I preferred the EDR's imaging because it struck me as more like my experience of live music. When I sit in a hall, I can hear the wonderful timbre of, say, a live violin, but with eyes closed I cannot point precisely to the sound hole -- the sound fills the room. So for imaging I preferred the EDR.
Instrumental timbres are excellent on both carts as well, but, again, I preferred the EDR. I thought that the K-B produced "thinner" voices for each instrument. The EDR produces weightier, fuller voices. And, again, these thicker voices struck me as sounding more like my experience of listening to live music.
Both carts excel at rhythm and speed. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the MM EDR didn't appear to lag in any way when conveying pace. It also handled trills and vibrato on a par with the K-B.
So, I'll be putting the K-B up for sale soon, and using the proceeds to buy more LPs and, perhaps, another EDR. I've enjoyed it a lot, but I can't justify keeping it when the EDR can satisfy me this well. Frankly, it also makes my life a lot easier if I only have to manage switching between an MM stereo cart and my MM mono cart.
Of course, your mileage may vary. These results are purely subjective, for one person, with one system, at one moment in time.
