Looking for a Warmer Sounding Phono Cartridge

@kevemaher  : " I'd consider my system neutral. "

Maybe measured " neutral " but exist several levels/steps of system measured " neutral " Your system " looks " as an average or a little below average system and ovbiously it performs inside that " neutral " overall quality level.

It's clear that if you are deep found in that " neutral " measured system then you have a " trouble " inside your ears not the system or you need a way stepped " neutral "  system quality above yours.

You are happy with the F9 ( I own .it ) even that measured not " neutral " in that bass range when Grace measures says is flat down there.

So, some " facts " of what you posted are against in between.

In the other side in audio  and other that measures the concept of " neutral " means different " things " to different gentlemans and you are an example of that.

R.

I also have a personal disfavor of rising high end cartridges.  I went back to a more simple Dynavector 20X2 L although I did consider the Rosewood and Hana MC (red and now blue).  I have hearing at least out to 16Khz (tested last year at 66).  I am sensitive to a few odd high frequencies, especially one soprano note around high Bb or A which sounds piercing to me, in the Dorothy Chandler (season ticket holder/400+ performances).  The lower resolution Dynavector permits me to enjoy almost all of my 27,500 LPs.  The Karat Diamond annoys on less than high quality LPs and Lyras, Ortofons are too bright for me.  I'm sorry for your hearing loss/sensativity issues. 

You might consider the Grace Asakura One MC. Also, I saw a review about Grado’s highest level cartridge and reviewer said it’s the best sounding cartridge he’s ever heard. I believe it sells for around $30,000.00. I’ll take three!

@kevemaher  : Btw, Grace 9 series motor cartridge was designed to run at 100k not 47k to play the CD-4 recordings of those times. Other cartridges runs at the same load impedance for the same issue like Empire.

R.

@lewm Thanks for the suggestion about Tinnitis.; I have my ears checked regularly. Never a mention of Tinnitis or any other kind of hearing loss except for the loss of high frequencies.

I looked online for symptoms. I don't have any.

This is clearly my personal bias. Back when I was less informed about the technical aspects of phono cartridges, my system was so irritating that I stopped listening to vinyl. I thought that there was something wrong with the mastering or pressing. "How could they..." was my thinking.

Now I know that alignment is so important. Then I was listening to a badly aligned cartridge. Now I never get that awful sound I had back then because I now put a lot of care into stylus and cartridge alignment.

Disdain for that awful sound must still linger in my mind. Even a small amount of it is a real annoyance. Cymbals can sound very bad if not properly reproduced. And in my experience there are very few recordings that get this sound acceptable (to me).