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Phono cartridge choice

Well, I think that I already have my mind made up but, I decided to see what the forum would say. The objective is to get a third cartridge to use in rotation on a Jelco SA-250S tonearm (removeable headshell) on a partially upgraded 1980s Linn LP12. The upgrades on the Linn are for increased rigidity (corian sub-chassis, corian arm board and a DIY 1/8" thick aluminum bottom plate. The two carts already on hand are a Hana SH MKII and a Nagaoka MP-200. The Hana will be on a Yamamoto Ebony Headshell. The MP-200 will be on a Jelco metal headshell. The third cart being considered is the Sumiko Songbird HO. It can go on either a Jelco or a Yamamoto ebony headshell (leaning toward the Yamamoto) The tuning of the system is much more for "musicality" than for analtical presentation. I want more ease and flow to the sound. Tube peamp, tube phono stage and tube amp.Thoughts? (sorry Audio Technica fans but, I wiil have to pass on AT carts)

mwh777
quincy
398 posts
 

You should be happy with the Benz Glider, Ortofon X series, or a nice Lyra cart!

hoytis
115 posts
 

Budget?

rpeluso
1,114 posts
 

I bought a Sumiko Starling in January ($2000), played it about 10 hours, found it totally harsh and grating, sold it for half-price.  I replaced it with a wonderful Grado Ref 3 LO, and am so relieved and pleased.

mwh777 OP
109 posts
 

Thank all of you for the input. Of all the suggestions that are reasonable for this application, budget wise, the Benz Glider is a strong maybe. The Sumiko Starling is voiced differently enough from the Songbird that I'm not concerned about someone else's bad experiences with the Starling in a different system. To address the question of "Budget?", I suggest that the budget is already implied in the info I have provided about the tonearm, cartridges on hand and the cart under consideration. The Sumiko Songbird list price is $900.

lewm
13,715 posts
 

If you can bear another negative comment, I’ve owned two Benz Gliders, HO versions, and found them to be meh. I also was underwhelmed even more by a Sumiko Blackbird. In fact I prefer HO MM or MI cartridges over HOMC. If you want HO, I’d go for either type over HOMC.

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