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 2 responses by mattmiller

I WOULD TRY THE ORTOFON 2M BLACK. IT IS A WARMER CARTRIDGE AND WOULD HELP WITH THE BRIGHTNESS YOU SPEAK OF. ALSO I WOULD CHECK OUT THE NAGAOKA MP500,A WARM AND DELIGHTFUL SOUND.

MATT TX
The Analisys Plus cables are the most colored cables Ive ever heard ,next to Cardas, I cant stand them. Go for a Morrow Audio Cable, or Kimber,or Nordost.Cables are tone controls. The MAC preamp is nice but you can get the same sound or better without all the bells and whistles.I like MAC I use a MC352 Amp....with a Primaluna Tube Preamp.I am getting tierd of shelling out big bucks for equipment. I saved a ton of $ not buying a Mac preamp and I dont miss it at all.

Matt