First in line...

Ok I'm probably exaggerating a little saying it has no guts! But after conducting that comparison it's certainly lacking...although Shellac sounded pretty good...!

Thanks Dfhaleycko & Zd542. The phono stage is the latest & improved Whest Audio whestTWO direct from James Henriot.
The arm & cart do sound good but was thinking it didn't have any balls! So I tried Don Caballero's 'For Respect' on vinyl & the original CD on my Ayon CD-3...the Ayon was far superior.

I was considering the Origin Live Illustrious as it will extract a lot more from a cartridge but that of course would mean using the AT33EV for longer.
As regards cartridges I'm looking at the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze & Blue, Lyra's Delos, Dynavector DV XX2 MkII & Transfiguration Axia S.

Were they nearly 4k new...? The cartridges on my shortlist are all cheaper than a used Herron...

Are there any owners of the aforementioned cartridges who could contribute their views please...??

Wow...I certainly didn't expect to see all this!!

In the guise of Devil's advocate aspects of both views are correct in that it is possible to extract more from the arm & cart with a simple cable upgrade (between stage/pre &/or tonearm). Also gains can certainly be had with a cart or arm upgrade.

If I was loaded this thread wouldn't exist...