Good cartridge for Audioquest PT6 arm ???

I had a Benz Micro Glider (1.25mv original) mounted on PT-6 arm on a vpi hw-19jr. This combo was wonderful for jazz and rock, not as wonderful for classical although it was still good, especially with smaller ensembles. Percussion from this cartridge blew my mind.

Phono preamps used were a Lehmann Black Cube and a Jolida JD-9 (both cost around $499 new, but I only borrowed the latter tubed preamp).

Strengths of this cartridge were a slight warmth, excellent imaging, excellent tracking - even of worn records, good bass, and good top end.

Weaknesses were a small mid-bass hump which most jazz and rock lovers wouldn't notice or mind much at all, and not the most accurate timbres of classical instruments such as violins, but again this wasn't even to a moderate degree.

I've since sold my vpi/pt-6, having just purchased a scoutmaster which will be set up today with a Lyra Helikon, but I did get a chance to mount the Glider from the old TT on the scoutmaster and listen to it for a few days while awaiting the used Helikon.

Glider sounded great on the Scoutmaster/JMW-9 (arm) as well, so even if you upgrade your TT in the future, you can expect the Glider to keep pace with the higher end stuff for a while.
Hope this helps (btw- I just sold my Glider yesterday on Audiogon)

Ted

I recommend just paying someone to come over and do it! I paid one of the 'senior techs' at a local high-end shop, who specializes in phono stuff, about a hundred and ten bucks to drive to my place and install the new cartridge. For my money, I not only got the guy's expertise and time (took about 30-40 minutes plus his driving time) but the use of his expensive:
1) VTF gauge (he used a high-end one to precisely set this)
2) Protractor (believe it was wallytools)
3) Speed strobe disc

The above tools alone would have cost me hundreds of dollars more than I paid. While it's true that buying and learning to use the tools may have some long-term benefits, having TT set up on-location (after moving the rack to the best place in the room - something he also helped me to determine) brings both peace of mind and great sound from the get-go. Now my new TT is a vpi scoutmaster, but I believe that having bought the hw-19jr/pt-6/glider from the same dealer some 8 years ago and having it set up by the same people for free (as part of the package deal) is part of the reason I enjoyed the hw-19jr for so long. Even during transport, the VTF and cartridge alignment never went out of whack (verified this the night before selling the jr.).

Of course some will say that fiddling with the tt and learning to set it up is half the fun, but not for me. I managed to set up the scoutmaster on my own using the Glider from the jr. ( just to see how the glider sounded on this TT, while awaiting a new cartridge), but I don't fool myself into thinking that I did as good a job as someone more experienced who owns the best TT tools boot). I'd rather know I'm getting close to (or actually) the best sound possible from the hardware I already own - not to mention having my LPs treated more gently by a stylus pointing the right direction - and just enjoy it.
Sorry if this comes across as contrary to the spirit of do-it-yourself fun, but just thought I'd share my opinion on something that is certainly fun to mess around with a bit, but is often ( though certainly not always) best left to professionals.

Granted. However, it's often said that a well set-up tt based system can often sound as good or better than one costing several times as much, so even at the total investment level you mentioned, ultra tweaking is not to be dismissed (not to say you were dismissing it). My first TT was a Rotel that cost only around $300 used with Signet cartridge, and my amp which included the phono stage was a modest $150 Onkyo 45 watt receiver. Speakers were $100 JBL's. Even at that level, I'm glad I had it professionally set up (wasn't very expensive, since I carried the TT in to the dealer myself). That was about 12 years ago. Think of this (you probably already have): any minimization of damage done to the LPs you currently own will appreciated down the road when the bug bites and you take the plunge on a used higher end cartridge and/or table (incl. heavier platters, etc). The grooves will have a less plowed-through sound. Now that I think of it, probably the single biggest upgrade you could make to your analog front end would be some kind of used LP cleaning machine. Comparing my scoutmaster to the hw-19jr I just had, and comparing that in turn to the old Rotel, I think the biggest differences in sound between them were noticeable when playing non-audiophile records that were less than clean. For example, the Police album 'Regatta de Blanc' (bought used in exc. condition for about 3 bucks) sounded really great on the Rotel! Even the subtle bubbling sound heard in the background in the track 'Walking on the Moon' lent the track the type of organic sound (euphonic or not) that is evident even on the lowliest turntables. Now I dig that same flimsy album out and play it on the scoutmaster, sinking the expensive Lyra into grooves that must be throughly plowed by now, and - possibly owing to optimal TT setup way back when - that disc still sounds better in many ways than the corresponding SACD.

Again, didn't want to come across as preachy. Indeed I'm really still not nearly as experienced with the tech aspects of analog as I should be, and my most recent upgrades have come, perhaps foolishly, at the expense of not being able to afford any speakers (!). Yet I still believe that a system's source (and helper components such as phono preamp) is much more important than any pair of speakers or any amp, since a great source (especially in the analog domain) playing a great recording will still have a seemless musicality that in many ways sounds better through $20 earbuds than a poorer source heard through $500 speakers or headphones.

Ted