Recommend which SPU?

I sometimes use a Royal GM MkII with that tonearm and like it a lot. At just 0.2mV, it requires a pretty good, high gain phono sage or a 1:30 SUT, in my experience.

@chakster , I think dhcod might have been speaking to the dissimilarity of the names, yours and mine: the Royal G MkII v. Royal GM MkII. I’m guessing they are identical, perhaps with the "G" marketed in Japan, but I could be wrong.

Here’s the one I have:

https://www.ortofon.com/spu-royal-gm-mkii-p-459-n-1579

@chakster , Right, but I’m talking about the Royal GM MkII, NOT the Royal GM. Please look at the link I supplied above and tell me if that SPU is different from the one you’re talking about. Based on the following specs, I'd say they are the same.

Here are the specs of the Royal G Mkii (from your ebay link):
Output voltage: 0.2 mV
Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz + 1.5 / - 0 dB
Diamond needle: Nude ortofon Replicant 100
Cantilever: Aluminum
Proper needle pressure: 3.0 g
Weight: 30 g

Now the Royal GM Mkii (from my Ortofon link):
Output voltage: 0.2 mV
Frequency response - 20-20.000 Hz + 1.5/- 0 dB
Stylus type - Nude Ortofon Replicant 100
Tracking force, recommended - 3.0 g (30 mN)
Cartridge weight - 30 g
And the cantilever is aluminum.

Yes, it is glossy.

The Royal with the replicant 100 stylus is in our opinion (a friend
of mine owns one) neither fish nor fowl. It has not the resolution
of a Lyra or ZYX and not the typical charming SPU-sound.

I understand this criticism, and agree with it to a degree. But really, why must something be fish or fowl? It is an artificial binarism. A mermaid is neither fish nor women but still captures the imagination. I find the Royal to supply enough of each to make it special and interesting--and that's in a 3-armed system with many other hi-rez cartridges, including an SPU A95. The A95, indeed, is better, with richer tonality and huge soundstage. But I find the Royal on my bayonet mount more often, so that tells me something. Maybe I'm just into mermaids. ;-)