VPI Shyla cartridge?

"So what phono cable would you get? If you had that same $2K budget for cart and cable, what would you grab? "

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 $2k cart/cable will  you allow for plenty of choices. Obviously, your particular table/phonostage  will be a factor for an appropriate choice.

The ART9 should work on many. At $1200, it leaves you with around $800. Cable choice? It's another contentious/polarizing subject. I'd spend around $500 or less. Used could mean something 1/2 of retail.

Do we have any hard evidence that this is an unmodified ART9 outside of color and branding? 

It's not like AT hasn't built variants of their carts to a manufactures design before (MoFi is a recent example).  

And as far as the bundle goes, it doesn't seem like a bad deal. Particularly if you are interested in the ART9 and Nordost Blue Heaven (assuming that's what the cable based on). 

So $1200 cart + $700 cable = $1900. Yes, slightly above market value. But all set up in one box from one vendor. Curated for the lazy buyer who doesn't want to shop around for the best cables and carts. It's obviously not the budget choice, but I don't think VPI is rolling in profits from this package either. Just an easy extra option for buyers who want to set up and go. I could see a lot of people going with the package a safe bet as they dive deeper into the vinyl world. And I could equally see this being a "simple solution" for a second system. Not your average buyer, but rather someone who owns a higher end VPI in a main system. 

But tracking back to the Shyla directly - I would LOVE it if someone was able to compare it directly with an ART9 at some point. It would be an interesting A/B.