Looking for a Warmer Sounding Phono Cartridge

Your preamp is a nice one! Still have the original JAN 12AX7's inside? Do you run your SUT through the tubed MM stage of the preamp?

@dekay    Very good idea....I'm in the same boat as the OP and I'm going to try the Thicker Mat suggestion...Thanks.

@kevemaher , I have watched this conversation develop and I can see it might be of limited value to you. Feel free to call me to discuss. The first question I am going to ask you is what is your loading set at and what is the coil impedance of your cartridge. There may be at least three follow up questions from there.

For everyone else, I do not recommend changing SRA and VTA (Two VERY different things that are important for different reasons with different targeted ideal ranges) by increasing mat thickness as it changes a minimum of four variables that can impact the playback performance: SRA, VTA, tonearm pivot vector forces and record to support surface mechanical impedance. (Note that I am assuming you will adjust for VTF when changing arm height or record height otherwise you will also be changing damper compression vertically AND horizontally in addition to any changes to SRA & VTA due to the new VTF.) On some tonearms, height changes can also affect azimuth. If you make height changes at the tonearm pivot area instead of at the record, then you reduce your variables by one. Not a huge win, but a step in the right direction.

When attempting to make an improvement to performance, it is important to impact as few variables as possible so you can better understand and control the outcome. Without such control, you could - for example - change record height with a thicker mat and three parameters might improve but one might get much worse, giving you no obvious net improvements. Rather, if you were to do your best to limit the total variables impacted when you make such a change then you can assess for the changes in a more controlled fashion.

With that said, I think the likelihood of your issue being a mechanical one is no foregone conclusion. We can discuss when you call me. Phone on website. I’m not going to push my tools on you. I’m going to help you control the variables so you can get to the bottom of this. High frequency "screechinesssssss" is NOT a characteristic of moving coils that are properly setup and electro-mechanically damped.

Wow! A free offer to receive a very professional overview of a raised Cartridge concern.

This certainly surpasses my most recent act of kindness to a stranger. 

@kevemaher  : Obviously your Rane is not helping you to for your ears " problem " and gain/loading for the Hana/Shelter neither. The Rosewood is way different performer and that's one reason you like it because is not so " agressive " .

One source for your " ears "  problem ( because it's not a cartridge problems. ) could be that build material of your speaker tweeters that crossover around 2.5khz and could have some kind of ringing down there or maybe not because you said your room/system is neutral and you measured.

Now, if the Rosewood works for your " ears " then why to look for other cartridge when the other 2 that are not bad cartridges just does not works with your " ears ". 

Why to use more that one cartridge and if you want to use your other tonearms then Rosewood dowthere too.

Different tonearms and different tonearm internal wiring could help too with those 2 cartridges.

At the end reading here and there you are only " guessing " what only your ears can confirm, not guessing because your room/system is unique as each one of our room/systems and it's obvious and you learned in this thread when you posted:

"  that there are about as many opinions as there are posts. "

R.