Bang for buck? The new Hana SL MkII. For $850 it is hands down the best under $1000 cart on the market, and maybe even $2000. It carries a lot of features of their higher end Umami carts and leaves enough money in your wallet for cables, if you are so inclined. The move from even a great MM cart to a MC has always been a major improvement in my systems, starting with an upgrade from an Ortofon VMS20 to an MC-20 almost 50 years ago. Fast forward, and the Hanas shocked a lot of people, providing the SQ of multi-kilobuck MCs for a fraction of the price.
Where's the next weak link in my analog chain?
Currently using the following:
Mofi Ultradeck w/ MasterTracker cart
- Powered by AQ Thunder power cable
Sutherland 20/20 mk1 with LPS (stock power cable)
- Zu Mission mk1 phono from TT to pre, Zu Mission mk1 from pre to amp
I don't have much left that I think I could do on this end before upgrading the table entirely. I'm curious where you would spend your next dollar?
MC Cart
Phono cable
Interconnect
Power cable to phono
Beyond that I think this set up will be pretty well maxed out and it would be time for a new TT to start squeezing out more.