Vintage Dual 1228 Turntable : worth to upgrade cartridge ?


I have from my college days (1977) Dual 1228 with original fitted Shure M95ED cartridge .  It is maintained well , not used for about 20 years in between , but just cleaned , lubricated , resoldered some loose connections , etc and just runs great for me. 
I am not too much into analogue , so not planning to do big time investment into new TT , Phono preamp , but if  can get larger benefit by replacing the Shure M 95 ED with some new cart upto $ 200-300 , I would like to do it . 
My Phono preamp is very low end Cambridge Audio MM 551P . To go with new upgraded cartridge , I may even consider to buy used Phono with budget of $1000 . 
I would appreciate advice form FMs here , where I should spend my money to get most benifit on sound improvement . New cart , new phono ? 

radni

Showing 2 responses by mesch

I am with yogiboy. I would replace cartirdge, keep the cambridge phonostage, and save your money. Why spend more until your are convinced on commitment towards vinyl.  I have heard that phono cartridges age with time even if not used. This is first heard as a loss of bass.
I once had a Dual 1219 with a Shure V15 cartridge on it. Was very impressive for its day and $ (1970, bought on Okinawa US Base).  I have not heard either of your choices. Check out the specs and make sure they have synergy with the Cambridge phonostage regarding gain and capacitance.