MM cartridges


I recently picked up a used Merrill table and having an audiomods arm installed. I am interested in installing a MM cartridge only. My choices are Grado reference, Soundsmith Aida, or Decca London super gold. Has anyone tried these cartridges and can offer feedback?
powder1
Powder1, the "pod" is called Deccapod, and is a thick chunk of aluminum machined in the exact shape of the Gold/Super Gold body. It replaces the standard flimsy plastic mounting bracket (which is a joke and should be done away with, the Deccapod becoming standard), rather than being added to it. It becomes the new top of the cartridge (with threaded holes for mounting the cartridge to a pickup arm), and does indeed damp the cartridge (but not by damping "the energy between tone arm and cartridge"---read on); without it the thin tin body is unsupported and free to resonate like crazy (you can hear the record even with your pre-amp muted!), and very microphonic. It also stiffens the whole cartridge assembly and facilitates the passing of the massive amounts (for a cartridge) of physical energy the cartridge produces into the pickup arm, making the stiffness of the arm's tube and quality of it's bearings even more important. The Deccapod's extra cost is definitely justified---I would go so far as to say a Gold or SG should not be purchased without it. The Jubilee and Reference London's don't need it (because of their different bodies), and in fact can't accommodate it.
Bdp24, I owned a Stogi Reference for several years. Over that time I was continually impressed by the design/features of the arm. And every cartridge I mounted seemed to work well.

I only sold it (along with the Stabi table) because of the fixed headshell and wanting something to more easily utilize multiple cartridges.

I expect the Decca would match just fine.
Thanks Pryso. I put in a call to Scot Markwell at Elite Audio, the U.S. distributor for Kuzma. The Stogi Reference is available with a number of upgrades (silver wire, etc.). The more I look into it, the better it looks. Dick Olsher really likes the 12" version, and his taste and mine are consistently aligned.
Bdp24, be certain about the wire you select. Mine had continuous wire from the cartridge clips to RCAs (not a bad thing in my mind) so changing is not a simple task.

For example I've read that silver wire can sound too bright with some SS electronics. So match carefully.
Right Pryso, Kuzma arms come standard with continuous wiring from cartridge clips-to-Eichmann Copper Bullet RCA plugs (THE way to do it, IMO), with a choice of copper or silver (at extra cost). Robert Levi has his London Reference on a copper wired Helius Omega, feeling silver wire will be too brash with the London. My phono and line stages are both tube (as is my power amp), so either will probably be fine, silver providing a little more resolution and low-level detail. Powder1, the Audiomods arm is also available with copper or silver---which does yours have?