Otello vs. Carmen mkII.........help me choose.

Hello, 

I wanted to upgrade my turntable cartridge in a small second system.  I came upon these two carts for 3 reasons: great reviews, excellent quality of manufacturing, and the rebuild option. Plus, Soundsmith is a stones throw from where I live.

The system is as follows:

Vintage Sony PS-X7 direct drive turntable. DC servo-controlled brushless and slotless motor. Statically balanced, universal pivot tonearm. Arm (shell) weight, 10.5g.  Cartridge weight range, 2.5-9.5g range (8-14.5g with extra weight). The deck was made in the mid-70's and cost around $400 back then.  I am currently using a 15 year old Grado Prestige Gold cart, very low hours.

Phono pre-amp, QHW (Quality Hi-Fi Works Audio).  Made in Spain (Michael Fremer highly recommended the unit about a year ago in Stereophile Magazine).

Pre-amp specs-  accepts both MM and MC via toggle switch.  Gain, fixed at 43db in MM mode, switchable from 63db to 69db in MC mode.

MM load dipswitch options: 47P, 220P, 150P, 100P

MC load dipswich options: 47K, 1K, 560R, 470R, 100R, 47R

PRIMA LUNA ProLogue 2 integrated amplifier (no sub out, no remote, bare bones and gorgeous sounding).

Speakers: Von Schweikert VR1, stand-mounted bookshelf/monitor.

In terms of the music I like: electric and acoustic jazz, funk, R and B, and classical.

I'm not looking to use a cart as an equalizer.  I want all playback gear to be true to source, and not impart any sort of color.  That said, I do like tightness and control in bass and percussion, but also like "air" and "space" in orchestral music.  I sway towards instrumentals, with few vocal artists in my LP stash.

I realize that the Carmen is a few hundred more than the Otello, but wanted to get an opinion if it would be worth the extra bucks.  If you have another suggestion that is bursting from within, please feel free to share any recommendations, under $1,000.

Thanks for looking.  Happy listening.

judsauce