High Performance Moving Iron Cartridge Candidates?


I have decided to simplify my analog set up a bit. removed the fussy cartridges and SUT's, and am down to one external phono stage, and the internal one in my Trinov preamp. 

 

The Trinov preamp is MM only, and I don;t want to use a step up or headamp with it. So that means high output moving coil or a MM type cartridge. 

I read on these boards that a MI cartridge can have lower moving mass than a moving coil I would like to experiment. 

What are the viable candidates these days? I imagine most vintage ones do not have OEM styli available still. The Soundsmith ones are interesting, but get very spendy. This is meant to be a casual cartridge for me, but I will spend some money on it. Just not Air Tight or Koetsu money.  

What are other choices? Not typically fond of Grado I heard in the past. Otherwise I think Nagaoka is the only other one I know of?

neonknight

My understanding is that Peter has someone who works with him on the high end cartridges, presumably so that one day they can continue the work. I have not asked Peter that directly (an excess of delicacy on my part), but I have heard that from a dealer. With cartridges like the strain gauge and the Hyperion (with its cactus spine) one is dependent on SS for future service. Those with more conventional builds could be serviced by the usual suspects.

@neonknight I hear you about the Grados. I have a Statement 3 that sits unused. I can't say there's anything wrong with it, but it doesn't excite me. The MP-500 I discovered when I was concerned that the Deccas would no longer be serviced with John Wright's retirement, and it comes close to the Decca sound and liveliness. Initially I didn't hit it off with the Sussurro, but with some very careful attention to VTA it suddenly came to life and impressed me enough that I moved up to the Hyperion, which is better still. I rather hate to say it, but it is better and more engaging than the the Decca. I never thought I'd say that. If you can stretch to one of the Soundsmiths I think they can outperform the MP-500, but as I say I haven't heard one of the high ouput SS cartridges. PL himself says he only makes low output versions because the market demands them to use with expensive MC phono stages, and he implies that if it weren't for that he'd stick with the high outputs.

+1 on London Decca - I have the SuperGold, not the reference - about $3k - at least several months ago, prior to tariffs - incredible sound - highly worth considering and the LD folks provide awesome support -  it replaced a Sumiko Blackbird - also in the middle of upgrading VPI Prime to SOTA Sapphire VII + Audio Origami PU7 Ti - 

You don’t have to worry about the longevity of SoundSmith. 
 

Their heritage doesn’t really matter. They make really good sounding products. 
 

Here’s why…

https://www.sound-smith.com/articles/fixed-coil-vs-moving-coil-why-make-jump-different-technology

I was hoping people would have read a little closer. 

The arm being used is just under 9 grams. As I understand things, a cartridge like a London Decca isn't going to be happy in an arm of that mass. Please do let me know if I am wrong. Secondly, how are we getting them serviced these days?

Secondly, the phono stage being used is the one onboard the Trinov preamp. My Esoteric E-03 already has a Transfiguration Proteus and a gen 1 Kiseki Blackheart hooked up to it. So this cartridge is not going to be a low output one. Which actually knocks out a lot of the Soundsmith currently listed on Audiogon and USAM. 

I don't have to make a choice this week as I can play vinyl on the other two cartridges. But the goal is to find a casual play cartridge that I can appreciate the sound on. Maybe the MP-500 is it, unless I find the appropriate Soundsmith one to put on this arm. 

It’s always easy to add mass to any tonearm. Low effective mass is never an insurmountable problem. Also, to be clear, it’s high output MC cartridges that I haven’t liked, not high output MIs. The latter are most of my favorites of all time: B&O MMC1, Nagaoka MP500, Acutex LPM320.

And finally, the ART9Xi is an upgrade of the ART9.