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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
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
David, I don't know what your price range is, but here is a couple of reco's for some sweet sounding speakers that are close enough to NYC for you for a personal demo.

Merlin VSM-MXe

Verity Audio Parsifal
jperry
2,448 posts
 
If you have a car Verona, NJ is only 25 miles. You could also call Modern Audio to see if they have a NYC dealer.
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
Jperry,

I bought an RP5 from John in Verona. I attempted to contact him several times throughout the following week to make an appointment to check on the order for the spacer for my cart as well as setup a time for the following weekend to swing by for one of his guys to perform the work. The first two phone calls I attempted with him, he was either eating lunch or busy, stated he'd call me back and did not. The third call, he practically hung up on me. I returned the TT the following Saturday. Unfortunately my experience with John was not the positive one most people seem to have. I'm reluctant to deal with him in the future, but will if it's the only place to hear the Proac's.

Thanks again everyone!
soix
9,456 posts
 
Glad to hear you decided to upgrade the speakers. If you can get to Park Ave. Audio in Manhattan you should go hear a pair of Joseph Audio speakers. I think it would be well worth your while. Best of luck.
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
Soix,

Thank you for the recommendation. I know exactly where Park Ave. Audio is. Actually it's two blocks North of Les Halles, one of those boisterous NY restaurants and one of my favorites!

Thanks again!
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