Shelter 501Mk2 or ZYX R100-02H

Both are good sounding cartridges, Their character will depend in your Phonostage and Frontend in general too. From my memory the shelter shows a good Bass, full tones, the Zyx shows more detail and is generally a bit different in overall Balance. It has a short Diamond which collects dust easily, so some cleaning should be done more otherwise the higher frequencies suffer. But this is no big deal. I think, the Zyx has a longer life, Shelters can go down pretty fast, I had two on loan which started to get weak and they didn't have so many hours on it.

Yes, the ZYX has a long life. Good for at least 2000 hours and even more.

OK, this is useful information...
As I said, I have EAR-834P DeLuxe.
And pair of tube amps - Audio Research LS/VT.

BTW; 2juki is a very good guy. I think he used to sell here on Agon. Highest regard.
-John

What's the actual compliance of the ZYX R100? More like 22-30cu?