I would suggest you consider an Audiotechnica OC9MLII. This cartridge is somewhat of a sleeper and few people use it on the Scout, preferring instead the Dynas. However, in my view this combo is superb and the OC9 can be gotten relatively cheap. It is a great compliance match for the original JMW9 arm and the sound is spectacular--superior, in my view, to the 20XL and 20XM I owned and rivaling the XX2MKII I also used for a time. Find a used one and give it a try--I doubt you will want to let it go.
VPI Scout with Grado Master - but what next?
I've got an old original VPI Scout with a wood body Grado Master HO MM cartridge on it. I'm using the phono stage in my McIntosh C2200 tube preamp, and pushing the whole thing with a McIntosh MC402 solid state amp. I listen to Jazz mostly.
The Grado Master is about eight years old now, so I'm starting to shop around for a replacement. I had a Grado Sonata in it originally but it was pretty thin and boring sounding and didn't track very well - the Master has been a really wonderful cartridge. However it's a lot better with Jazz than it is with Rock. Rock, even excellent 1/2 speed master recordings, sound forward and lack slam.
So I'd like my Rock to...well rock, but jazz is my main thing, and I'm worried that if I buy a Dynavector or Soundsmith based on recommendations from folks who listen to Rock exclusively, I'll wind up with my Steely Dan bringing down the house, but Leroy Vinnegar sounding like Jack Bruce and a stack of Marshalls. This would be bad. Anyone
The Grado Master is about eight years old now, so I'm starting to shop around for a replacement. I had a Grado Sonata in it originally but it was pretty thin and boring sounding and didn't track very well - the Master has been a really wonderful cartridge. However it's a lot better with Jazz than it is with Rock. Rock, even excellent 1/2 speed master recordings, sound forward and lack slam.
So I'd like my Rock to...well rock, but jazz is my main thing, and I'm worried that if I buy a Dynavector or Soundsmith based on recommendations from folks who listen to Rock exclusively, I'll wind up with my Steely Dan bringing down the house, but Leroy Vinnegar sounding like Jack Bruce and a stack of Marshalls. This would be bad. Anyone