To the OP — You accept that a better MM/MI is that way to go at this
time (and Chakster is right that Raul's classic thread is
must-read) but you seem determined to get a new cartridge. I understand this, but I think you
are drastically, and needlessly, limiting your options. You may achieve
more "goodness" this way, but you're ruling out "greatness".
@Thank you Chakster, you're right again: "SAEC SS-300 mat is a must have to solve an EMI effect (electromagnetic interference) for both MM or LOMC." I've been using it for years. I never had an EMI problem so I didn't know the SAEC solved it, but it's good to know. For me, it's a "must have" for other reasons...
I did have a bearing-rumble problem which resonates intolerably through the platter, thence to the LP and stylus, no matter what mat I use, and drives my woofers berserk. I could not fix it at the source, because the motor is sealed (welded shut — one of those "never needs lubrication" fallacy/fantasies from that period). I will try to drill out the spot-welds next time I undertake a major task, so I can get inside and do the proper maintenance/restoration... if it's not too late.
But meanwhile the SAEC eliminates the rumble entirely. I don't rest it directly on the platter, that doesn't help. Instead, I elevate it above the platter a short distance, less than 1mm. It's supported at three very small points around the outermost perimeter, farthest from the source of rumble (the center) and where the metal is thickest — the added mass at the platter's rim acts as a mechanical sink, and the rumble is at its least there. The SS-300 doesn't sag at all, so those three tiny points are its only contact with the platter and the rumble it carries, nothing but air between them.
The result is silence.
@Thank you Chakster, you're right again: "SAEC SS-300 mat is a must have to solve an EMI effect (electromagnetic interference) for both MM or LOMC." I've been using it for years. I never had an EMI problem so I didn't know the SAEC solved it, but it's good to know. For me, it's a "must have" for other reasons...
I did have a bearing-rumble problem which resonates intolerably through the platter, thence to the LP and stylus, no matter what mat I use, and drives my woofers berserk. I could not fix it at the source, because the motor is sealed (welded shut — one of those "never needs lubrication" fallacy/fantasies from that period). I will try to drill out the spot-welds next time I undertake a major task, so I can get inside and do the proper maintenance/restoration... if it's not too late.
But meanwhile the SAEC eliminates the rumble entirely. I don't rest it directly on the platter, that doesn't help. Instead, I elevate it above the platter a short distance, less than 1mm. It's supported at three very small points around the outermost perimeter, farthest from the source of rumble (the center) and where the metal is thickest — the added mass at the platter's rim acts as a mechanical sink, and the rumble is at its least there. The SS-300 doesn't sag at all, so those three tiny points are its only contact with the platter and the rumble it carries, nothing but air between them.
The result is silence.