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Time for a new cartridge

My current cartridge which is a Van Den Hul DDTII Special MC is starting to lose it's zing. Details are not as sharp as they were and overall I think I'd like something fresh. My tt is a VPI Prime with the 10" JMW Memorial tonearm. My phono stage is a Musical Fidelity Nu Vista Vinyl. My amp is a McIntosh MA8950 integrated. My speakers are Sonus Faber Cremona M. I have 2 KEF R400B subs, which I think compliment the Cremona's. I've emailed VDH and they said they would do a re tip and get it back to where it was, but I'm thinking maybe it's time for a different sound. With the info I've provided I'd like some alternatives. My budget is around $2500.

128x128chasda
hotei
153 posts
 

I have your same turntable and really enjoy the Lyra Delos.  I think it's great value for the money.

willy-t
150 posts
 

Hello

I just bought  an open box Lyra Kleos SL

deeply discounted  from Music Direct 

last month and now there’s an open box Lyra Kleos you could get 

for the budget amount you mentioned 

It retails for ove $4k or so and Brian could get you 20%!off  current price of $2900 I believe   
Really killer sounding cart   Good for 3,000 hours with the right tracking and clean records  

good luck Willy-T

 

 

ozone46's avatar
ozone46
3 posts
 

Hana Umami Blue. Luxman LMC-5. DS Audio E-3 woth preamp. All are the same price. A friend and well-respected turntable designer/manufacturer who also sells the Hana line recently switched over to the DS in his personal reference system. He tells me it's much better than other traditional cartridges.

tablejockey
3,890 posts
 

Longtime VPI Classic user.

Your setup is nice. Based on the limitations of the arm I wouldn’t look past anything in the price point of the Audio Technica ART 9 series.

ART 20 maybe won’t be fully appreciated?

VPI users seem give Lyra Delos the thumbs up?

Presently using a Kiseki Blue.

Musical Fidelity Nu Vista Vinyl- interesting model.

glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,666 posts
 

I took me some time to find a cart i liked as much as my VDH. There is something about the VDH stylus profile that’s special IMO. I've had mine rebuilt at VDH twice now. But i found a lightly used Sumiko Pear wood celebration 2 that fills in quite nicely with all the detail I'm used to from the VDH cart but with a bit more warmth in the midrange.

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