A cartridge with more bite, please and thank you


My Hana SL is a little soft sounding for the Linn LP12/Cirkus/Mober supchassis/Alphason Xenon MCS and I'm looking for some direction and insight. My phono preamp is a Supratek Syrah.

Thinking about Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, ZYX Ultima 100 and Soundsmith Paua. Anybody out there compare these? Heard any of them on a similar set up? Or, have other recommendation that would mate well?

 

I see a lot Ortofon recommendations for Alphason, the ZYX reviews well and Soundsmith is right down the river - I've enjoyed their lower models and like the rebuild concept and pricing. That said, best sound is best sound!

Oh, I'm also open to having the Alphason rewired - I'm not sure that's the biggest priority right now, but it's tempting...

Muchas gracias and happy holidays!

budburma

Actually you might want to consider changing the arm. I have had several Alphasons ( HR100S )  - they are very smooth by nature. Outstanding arm, but if you want more punch you might be better off with a Linn arm.

With regards to the Soundsmith Paua - I know this cartridge well - its very smooth - probably not going to give added punch.

The Dynavector XX2mk2 mentioned above is quite punchy in the bottom end.

 

I forgot about the ART9's! Thanks, @blisshifi  /  @audiosaurusrex. That seems like my wheelhouse. Looks like ther are some ART9's still to be found. I'll have to look into the difference between the XA and XI. 

Consider Lyra cartridges. Dynamic, lively, extended frequency range, nice midrange, tone, and soundstage. Takes a little time to break in then wow!