High end cartridge

You should take a look at Grado. I doubt you would go wrong!

@knight7m , if you want live, punch and authority you might be looking a the wrong type of cartridge. Good moving magnet cartridges like the Clearaudio Charisma, Goldring 1042 and AT VM 760 SLC have significantly more punch than most moving coil cartridges. With moving coil cartridges it takes the right one with the right phono stage to do the job like the Lyra Atlas and the Sutherland Phono Loco, a much more expensive proposition. The price of entry is also lower not because of less quality but because of market dynamics. People expect to pay more for MC cartridges so manufacturers are more than willing to charge them more. A good example is Soundsmith. The Voice and the Sussurro are the exact same cartridge. The Voice just has a few more turns on it's coils giving it a higher output. The low output Sussurro is meant to attract low output moving coil people and the Voice high output MM people. The Voice costs $3000 and the Sussurro costs $5000. Since when does a foot of fine copper wire cost $2000? Soundsmith makes a great cartridge with very balanced performance but the most dynamic cartridge I have owned is handily the Clearaudio Charisma. It is like listening to a high res digital file. It also has a warmer, fuller sound than most moving coils which you might like.

Unless you are particularly wealthy why spend thousands? The Hana SL mc with Shibata stylus is competitive with four-figure cartridges. $750. What phono stage do you have? It is as important as the cartridge. I prefer and use step-up transformers with my mc cartridges. Remember that if you spend thousands on a cartridge sooner or later you will have to spend even more when the diamond stylus wears out. 

I think that present day prices for cartridges are insane! Even Grado has a $16K cartridge! As I stated above they all have a finite lifespan. Manufacturers are preying upon the gullibility of the insecure. For sure there isn't enough in parts and labor to justify charging thousands! 

The OP clearly stated he owns a VPI tonearm with gimbal, NOT unipivot, bearing.

Disclaimer: I am Wed to Ortofon Cartridges and have very little concerns about the MC's produced by the Company from the early 2000's and onwards.

The Flagship Models and the Trickle Down ranges with Flagship Technologies have satisfied my needs.

I can't see your money being wasted on the Cadenza Black.

Look after it very very well and when the Needle Replacement time arrives, seek out needlestein for a Gyger FG 'S' retip and I am sure the extended use of the Cart' with this New Part, will leave you feeling very very happy. You are welcome to search the Web, for reports from others that have selected this as a method on Ortofon Cart's, I am yet to see the method reported on as a wrong choice. 

This FG 'S' has the Styli Form that the Ortofon Replicant Stylus mimics, so it is a back door into a Cart' Ortofon did not want their Customers to get access to.

Maybe the C'b sharing the Aucurum Coil Wire and the Replicant,  was a bit too close to the heels of the Flagship Windfeld and would be a cheaper route into the race to experience the Ortofon Top Tier of Cart's, and the C'b acquiring this positioning was not so welcome. Speculation as it is, the C'b has tremendous potential and should prove to be very satisfying.

Bear in mind the Aucurum Coil Wire and Relicant 100 Stylus is also found on the latest Flagship Cart' being the Verismo.   

If all goes tickety boo with the Cart', you could be getting 2000+ Hours of LP replays for about a $1 per hour, Bargain, Bargain, Bargain.

The Verismo will set you back approx' $7 Dollars per hour on a 1000 Hour Usage. 

Dear @knight7m  : Your understand of the Lyra and Dynavector quality performance is a total misunderstood you have. I don't know how you arrived to that " false " conclusion.

In the other side you not posted your budget and your today phono stage that's critical with any cartrridge.

You speak of " high end " but this two words has a meaning for you and a different meaning for other gentlemans according each one audio life experiences and audio systems.

If you really want a true help about a new cartridge you can do it better posting your budget and audio system ( not only phono stage. ).

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

I like full body sound, live, punch, authority, and neutral. 

You don't have to spend a fortune to get that.  

Most people describe my AT 33ptg/II exactly as above.

@lewm , who said anything about a unipivot? 

@jasonbourne52 , I agree but, you have to tell that to the people that buy them. If they would stop the prices would come down. IMHO there are many high output cartridges that will outperform the Hana like all of the ones I mention above. The Goldring and AT are even less expensive and still have much better stylus profiles and cantilevers not to mention that they avoid another gain stage entirely. In audio less is frequently more.

The Dynavector DV20X2l sounds nothing like my Denon/ZU DL103.  The Dynavector has a much richer midrange and much better midbass.  Not even in the same ballpark as the Denon.

Hana yes all day long! SL and Umami are just amazing. But..... I have to say I really love the AT-ART9xa, definitely worth looking at.

Include the Audio Technica ART9 for the $1K MC cartridge catagory.

Search the archives to see all the praise from the users(including myself) and how it performs well above its price point.

The AT OC9 series(a step down the line) is also worth a look, and like the ART series, performs above the price points.

On my FB arm (I have both gimbal and dual pivot), I have Lyra Etna.  It sounds superb.  Might be something to consider.

Have a look at Phasemation some of the best sounding cartridges

I have ever heard.

I just have to say, in general, if you pick a cartridge that has the sound characteristics you are looking for… you get what you pay for. I have owned a number of cartridges over the last fifty years and only those over a couple grand were really impressive. You have a great turntable and it definitely deserves a first class cartridge and phono stage. 
 

I have loved my Van den Hull and Koetsu cartridges. Your description of the sound you want doesn’t make me think I could make a recommendation. But do the best you can at choosing something that matches your sound preferences and assume the higher the price the better the sound (assuming you have researched it fully). You will likely love the result. 
 

Make sure you have an equaly great phono stage.. or you will not be getting the sound that your TT is capable of. 

+1 GRADO. The best for 50yrs. 

It's all about the stylus.

I heared à lot .. the most natural and best sounding is the BENZ mini gold !!

Like some above have said, I found success with a Lyra Etna + VPI + FB gimbal.  As others have also said above, the phonostage choice is important.  

But if you’re not planning to spend $10k on the cart and another 4-5 digits on the phonostage, I spent a couple years running an Ortofon 2M Black on a VPI Classic 3, and I thought it was fantastic through a Manley Chinook.  If I were building a reasonably priced system, I’d likely go back to that combo.  Plenty of punch and dynamics, with a tubey flavor. 

How about DS Audio?

Ortofon SPU Royal N, you don't need to spend Megabucks, this gives you all you want in spades full, your arm needs to be relatively massy though. This replaced a EMT JSD VM, I know others have replaced Kondo IOM with this and are not regretting it.

Ortofon Quintet Blue MC. Superb for 500 bucks.

Thank all for great and wealthy feedbacks, im very grateful to all, indeed incredibly helpful.

I didn’t mention rest of my gear because I thought not significant. My PP is: Whest P.S 30 RDT SE. TT: VPI Signature 21, and AQ Well Signature interconnect. Rest gear is Krell.

Cart budget: honestly I’m not planning more than $3000. And I’m always worry about the cost of retipping, prices are insane, so I’m looking for retipp friendly as well. SoundSmith is great option.

Someone here said my understood of the Lyra and Dynavector SQ is false! Well, I didn’t said anything against them, because I never listened to them! I’m just hesitate to jump any more toward Japanese Cart. Because when I listened to Denon DL-304 and Shelter 9000, I become hugely disappointed! For one part, incredibly lovely, sound clear (far from muffle), and have both extremes extensions particularly upper. But surprisingly (at least to me) both share similar sound charastric, very thin and lack full body, like Ortofon, which I really prefer. I just get feeling that all Japanese made (including Lyra and Dynavector) “might” share similar sound charastric.

On the other hand, Ortofon (entry level like Red Rondo) has one issue, its bit unemotional. Is Ortofon upper series better in this? That I don’t know, Otherwise I don’t need to look for something else.

Grado seems good choice, anyone like tell me how it sound?

Thanks.

The Hana EL is one helluva cartridge for the money. $475

Van Den Hul cartridges are superb. Very neutral, spacious and natural sounding. The Frog is a particular sweet spot in the range. Hanas are also excellent - and start at very affordable prices. On the affordable front also is the evergreen Denon DL - 103 - not the last word in detail, but punchy.

VdH cartridges track at around 1.5g, have a very long stylus life and can be affordably retipped/rebuilt. Those are factors when one considers the cost per play of any cartridge.

You don't say what phono stage you will be using - the cartridge and phono stage are effectively a system, and should really be considered together.

I said before my phono preamp, its Whest P.S 30 RDT Special Edition.

Not sure of the budget, but I love my Sumiko Palo Santos cartridge.  I've used them on two turntables and both sound fantastic.  Exquisite even.  One mid-priced turntable and one high end turntable.  I have an all analog (tube) system with a phono preamp.  

Keep on spinning!

mijostyn, I think the post above mine that made a disparaging allusion to a VPI tonearm with unipivot bearing was subsequently deleted.  So I can't tell you who it was that made the assumption. Open ended questions like this one inevitably result in responders trotting out their list of their favorite whatever the subject, in this case, cartridge. Not very meaningful to read or to the OP either.  The best advice is "buy a cartridge" at the top of your price range.  Having then spent money, the buyer will tend to like whatever cartridge was chosen.  Then the buyer can join in on threads like this to recommend his cartridge to the next guy.  I think that's what Raul was getting at, and I agree.

I presently have a Ortofon 2M Bronze, which I like. But I liked the AT 33ptg/II that the Ortofon replaced better, it really is a wonderful cart. For $550 would be hard to beat. Audio Technica has a trade in program, I just sent my old AT 33ptg/II in and they sent back a brand new one for $262 so that's a good deal. 

I run the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze on a Clearaudio Performance DC Wood table with the Tracer tonearm. I love the SQ of the combination. The Cadenza Bronze includes the Replicant 100 stylus and the Aucurum voice coil wire in a great cartridge priced less than $2,500.00. I provides an expansive sound stage and a very dynamic and realistic sound.

Dynavector is a real safe bet, good synergy with VPI. Don’t overlook them. 

Pricey but the most revealing pair I’ve heard: Tri Planar + VDH. I listen to trio and quartet jazz.

Mijostyn, while I don't disagree with much of what you said, I was surprised at your attack on the character of Soundsmith.  I have never heard their cartridges, but it only took a few seconds on their web page to find multiple reasons to believe that the 2 cartridges you mention differ by more than a bit of wire.  If you have some inside knowledge that their advertising is false or had a bad experience with them, please let us know.  If you've heard both cartridges, please tell us how they sounded to you.  It's clear you prefer HO cartridges, but singling out Soundsmith on that score seems rather arbitrary.  Our entire hobby often seems to be willing to spend more and more on less and less improvement, but that's not at all the same thing as saying that a specific manufacturer is intentionally ripping people off.

My opinion,
you can’t go wrong with a kiseki Purple Heart. I have one on my VPI prime signature with a 10“ gimbal fat boy tone arm.  Approx $2800

You know what they say about opinions 😂

MM cartridges are:

- provide higher output voltage hence have a better S/N ratio.

- Need less sophisticated and hence cheaper phono amplifiers.

- Styli are user changeable.

- Punchier in the bass frequencies.

Nagaoka MP500 for example is superb...  As well as Ortofon Black and Goldrings.

@petaluman , that was not an attack at all. I asked Peter Ledermann that question directly and that was the answer he gave me. He is doing what any smart business man is going to do. As for the Voice and the Sussurro they are the exact same cartridge with the exception of the coils. Same stylus, same cantilever, same body (different color) and same magnets. One is priced to compete with moving coils, the other with moving magnets. The Voice is still very expensive for a moving magnet cartridge and justifiably so as it out performs them all. I should know. I have one. 

@lewm , I missed that one. You and Raul are absolutely correct. The best cartridge made is always the one I am using at the time😇

Dear @knight7m  : This one and you do not need to get back and you can choose for the SL version too:

https://www.lyraanalog.com/kleos.html

R.

@mijostyn Thanks for the clarification.  If Peter says they're the same, he should know.  I just know he has a reputation for honesty.

When I looked at his website, I noticed that the 2 carts have very different compliances.  That suggests that they might work best in different tonearms?

New EMT Novel Gold

The Xquisite Line from Swiss Especially the Silver coils.

Dear @phantom_av  : Do you already own or listen the Xquisite?

In the other side the OP budget is 3K.

R.

I have one Xqusite mounted to my table, by far one of the best carts iv heard.

The logistics of comparing cartridges is very difficult, and the uncontrolled variables are numerous. This makes cross platform comparisons subject to 'YMMV'. That said, my most recent experiences on the VPI Prime Scout platform with the JMW 10.5 epoxy printed unipivot arm are limited to these: The Grado Sonata 3 hummed unacceptably regardless the grounding scheme i used. I exchanged that for a Hana SH which I mounted and calibrated. And while there are those that disparage unipivot arms, I like the basic concept and simplicity as well as the lack of bearing chatter and binding that trouble gimballed arms. Once properly aligned and calibrated, the Hana is an extraordinary performer. In choosing the SH high(er) output I simplify the signal chain and eliminate a second set of cables, all worthy goals in my book. The Hana itself I find to be very neutral, very dynamic, and and ex cellent tracker. While I'm not normally a big fan of Shibata styli, I realized that the 'tizzy' HF characteristics were in large eliminated when a longer arm was used. the10.5 in my arm's name refers to the 10.5" nominal length, a full 2" longer than the arms used on Pro-Ject tablesand1.2" longer that the otherwise great Rega RB330. The geometry is simple - longer arms have less tracking error. The Hana SH in a longer arm is simply a great cart at a very reasonable price. Are the Koetsu/Lyra/Clearaudio at 5X to 10X and more that much better? Not to me. In audio, as in many things in life, the first 90% costs the first 90% of the budget, the next 9% costs the next 90% and the last 1 % the next 90%. It is not a value question with a linear improvement, it is an S-shaped curve and above the upper knee, it takes a lot of input ($$$) for increasing small gains in output quality. Same with wine, same with cars. 

Dear @phantom_av  : Good but it's out of the OP budget.

R.

Most re-tip friendly company is van den Hul.

They to a full rebuild for less than 25% of many other high end MC companies who often charge 50% of new.

I'm currently running a VAS NOVA HW special MC cartridge on my upgraded VPI Classic 1 with Fatboy Gimbal.  It's a very nice sounding cartridge. 

Previously, was running a Soundmith Carmen which I thought was also very good.  I do have a Soundsmith Paua (new in box that I bought locally for 1/2 price from a fellow VPI forum member) to try as my next cartridge.

I'd like to try a Grado in the future, as well.

Rest of my analog chain includes Bob SUT Sky20, Manley Chinook, and SugarCube (which is typically in Bypass but useful for the occasional LP with pops/clicks that just won't clean up).

There are a lot of good suggestions here but one thing you should consider is whether you plan on installing the cartridge yourself or have it installed at the dealer where you purchased the cartridge.  In my case I definitely want the latter but the local dealers don't carry a lot of boutique lines.  Miyajima and Lyra are my preferred choices but try finding a dealer in the northeast.  The one good things about Hana is there are at least 3 dealers that cover the line in a 50 mile radius of where I live.  If you're up to the challenge of installing it yourself the options are definitely in your favor.  

I use the Soundsmith Paua- best cart I've ever had.  It solved a grounding and rumble issue I was having and also delivers tremendous SQ.  Wouldnt buy any other brand.  I also owned  the Kiseki Purple Heart-  this cart although very detailed was extremely sensitive - translation caused problems.

Based on your description of sound - I would go with a soundsmith- but then again I'm biased.