What cartridge for VPI and SOTA

The reason for my dilemma is that I own the Shelter, Dynavector and Benz cartridges and am trying to get a feel as to where I should start the combos. From the general consensus, I will start with the Shelter in the SME/SOTA setup. I have the Benz set up with the VPI, but the pairing with my BAT/SF Liuto system seems a little thick, so I will try the Dyna here and see what happens.

I also purchased an extra headshell for the SME 309 to make my "auditioning" easier.

Thanks and happy listening.
Rich

Sorry, but it really depends on your price level and what sound quality you want. But, price point dictates everything. There are good to great cartridges within each price point range. I could be annoying and just list the most expensive cartridge and be done, but as with most of us, we have price limitations. In my humble opinion, the Sota Star Saphire is better by far than the VPI Scout. But, that is only my opinion. I have found that the SME IV, IV.IV or V arms are much better than the 309 and again depending on price, the IV is easily obtainable for not much. But, the 309 is a really nice arm also. But, do you want to spend <$1,000 or $1,000 to $2,000 or greater for the cartridge? can you borrow a cartridge from your favorite dealer to use for a week?

enjoy

I have used the Dyna 17d2 on an SME309 and Sota Star with very nice results.

If you don't try them both on each table you will always be left wondering......

As I just stated in another post, the Benz cartridge/SME tonearm combo have very good synergy.

Shelters don't work well with VPI arms. Dyna or Benz are the best I've heard. Look into Bearpaws (Vermontaudio.com) for your VPI. Huge upgrade.

Thanks for the advice.

I was leaning towards that and you all seemed to have confirmed my suspicions!

Happy listening!

Try the Shelter in the VPI and let us know how it sounds

VPI & Dyna is a widely acknowledged synergistic combo. VPI recommends them often. Cheers,

Spencer