The 1254 @pindac mentions is indeed very similar to the Sky 20. I’ve had both. The Sky might be a bit sweeter but both have that “boogie” factor and lush midrange that I think really benefits the Ortofon MC cartridges (which can otherwise be too dry for my tastes). Either one is a great choice for your cartridge IMO. |
Several cartridges, phono stages, tonearms here too (LOTS of headshells and arm wands on hand) -- and what you've written really gels and resonates with my experience! Without a SUT I perceive Ortofons as dry, lean, and lacking passion. With a SUT - they're still not a Koetsu but sometimes really surprise me and "hit the spot". The Windfeld Ti is probably my most "hot and cold" cartridge, but for last session at least, it was very hot! The Blue Lace on FR64S is my unimpeachable Reference. It's always, consistently great -- so it's not knocked about by the ebb & flow of my transient preferences and moods. The various Benzes, Shelters, Ortofons, and other Koetsus are constantly undulating up & down in rankings (relative to each other) with my affections. There's always ONE of these that makes me think "I like this as much as the Blue Lace!", but it never lasts for long lol. |
Ah the endless audiogon churn between those who pursue what should sound good versus those of us who only care what actually sounds good! I seriously don’t care what happens at or above 100kHz. And for vinyl playback, any significant signal below 20Hz becomes rapidly destructive. Modern SUTs have plenty of bandwidth for high end vinyl playback. If I felt it were lacking up top, then I’d probably like the supertweeters on my Tannoys but I actually hate them. If extreme bandwidth is the goal, then DSD should be the focus. |
