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New cart for under 1K

I am looking to buy a new cartrdige for my setup. My current system consists of a VPI Scout II with a Black Knight platter and 10.5SE tonearm (the TT Michael Fremer demonstrated a cartridge setup at last years show in NYC), JM Focal 936's, Mac solid state power & pre, and a Dynavector P-75 phono pre-amp. The Focal's are very accurate and tend to be bright in the highs. Brightness is what I am trying to avoid. I've found the highs to be too harsh for my liking, especially with vocals. Sibilance is also an issue and something I have attempted to control with speaker placement, VTA, damping fluid, and the tone controls on my old Mac preamp. My current cart is a Grado Gold. I am hopeful that upgrading to a new cartridge helps eliminate some of the treble harshness and provides a sweeter overall sound. I'm interested in the Dynavector 20x2 so far. Any other suggestions for 1K or under, Benz, Ortofon, Sumiko (Blackbird, a little over 1K, but what the hell)?

Thanks for you assistance!
davidlillis

Showing 1 response by fleib

fleib
1,124 posts
 
David, ** I am hopeful that upgrading to a new cartridge helps eliminate some of the treble harshness and provides a sweeter overall sound.**

It might not be in your current budget, but it would be much better if you could replace the speakers first. If you have a $1K budget for a cart and put that toward new speakers plus whatever you can get for the Focals, you might not be far off? If you buy a cart now, voiced for your bright system, it might not sound that great with sweeter speakers. If your current cart is still functioning, you should hold off IMO and put the money where it will do the most good.
Regards,
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