MC Cartridge: Elliptical; around 0.5mv; track 1.25-1.75; Affordable

New AT OC9XEN looks like a high value proposition at $350
if it’s suitable for your arm.

Mates well with your phono stage at .35 mV, better IMO than
a .5 mV cartridge.

Tracks around 2 grams but I don't see a problem with that, again, if 
it is a good match with your arm. 

Elliott:

Your phono stage has 59 dB of gain and 100 ohm which is pretty close to ideal for a .35 mV cartridge with a 12 ohm internal impedance IMO (others may differ-and lots here probably will-in their opinions but I feel that, in general, in many systems approaching 60 db of gain is probably just a bit too much for a .5 mV cartridge). And gain/impedance matching with lower output MC’s and phono stages is really critical I think. You’re better off with what would be considered a lesser cartridge and an ideal match with phono stage than a great cartridge which is mismatched with the phono preamp.

Bill’s idea is a good one IMO. I run an Accuphase AC2 that his been
retipped with a Namiki Boron cantilever and micoridge stylus but a
boron cantilever and MR retip is typically $400-$450 on its own so
you’re going to have to find a relatively inexpensive body unless you start
retipping with aluminum cantilevers and lesser styli which would not interest
me particularly. 

You can end up with a pretty impressive cartridge this way but budget
might have to be extended into the $600-$700 range and you have to be
a bit lucky and find the right body at the right price, which can take time.

I have an SAEC C1 here that I may send off to Steve at some time that
I acquired at a reasonable price.

Chakster hates the idea of retips so be prepared: he will write a small
novel trying to talk you out of it. ;)

That AT wouldn’t interest me. It’s just too basic a cartridge for a $350-$450
rebuild IMO. I would rather buy the new AT that I linked to than take a chance on that.

IMO you want to look at late 80’s to early 90’s cartridges that fly under the radar
a bit in terms of name recognition that were high end, sold for around $800-$1000 then and have good pedigree. I’m partial to the Accuphase and Monster Alpha Genesis 1000 and 2000 as they have low internal impedances and match well with my phono stage. I rebuilt a couple of MC 20 Supers (and prior to that a few Denon 103R’s) and they were decent, but not in the league of the Accuphase.

I’m optimistic on the SAEC-I have a feeling it will slot somewhere in between the top of the line Hana and the Etsuros following a rebuild and I shouldn’t have much into it.

Some of the Ortofon Kontrapunkts might be worth a shot if you can find a body in
excellent condition for around $100. I’d possibly pay $100 for an Audio Technica Art 7 or 9 with a broken cantilever to take a chance on rebuilding one of those. Or a Denon DLS-1. Stuff like that.

Bear in mind you MUST confirm that both channels are functional when buying cartridges like this. Retipping with a new cantilever/stylus and suspension is one
thing, but attempting to repair broken coils, etc. can become very costly.

The Denon is not a good match with your phono stage-40 ohm internal impedance and fixed 100 ohm load on your phono stage. 

And I am not sure that the Dyna can be repaired. It appears to be a diamond
cantilever model and the cantilever is broken off quite deeply into the body. Others might know better and have an opinion.