VPI table owners, help please.

Tried 3+ cables between my SSM-Signature w/ Shelter 901 and Sonic Frontiers Phono 1SE. My favorite cable for other source is Audience AU24, but sounded coarse and rough between TT and phono stage. Pure Note Cerulean (generation before current Paragon) sounded thin and bright, but sounded exceptional in my other chain and beat out Nordost QuattroFill. End up with Harmonic Tech Cyrstal Copper, but not using the ground lead as it introduces hum.

using hovland music groove two between my vpi 10.5i and tom evens groove plus, makes a very fine marriage, a few buck more than your budget but will be very much worth it,

Your Ayre is a balanced design and will always sound better balanced - so wire your turntable balanced, and get a pair of Anti-Cable balanced interconnects for 200 dollars. Cardas is THE WORST in spite of the Ayre recommendations with Cardas. Audioquest is wonderful (as good as Anti-Cables), and because they have that battery gizmo on them, will sound great all the time without first running them in after not using it for awhile. I love the Audioquest Sky interconnects..but they are very pricey. Anti-Cables are very, very close.

I also have the SSM Signature but am using a Benz Ruby 3 into a Shindo Labs Monbrison pre... I am currently using Shindo's relatively affordable interconnect designed for any component not just phono. BUT if you are looking for a phono specific cable, I highly recommend the Transparent Reference phono cable. There is no network on this cable, and I found it to be highly neutral without being dry sounding. It put out what was put in!

I used Zu Xaus and I didn't like it in my system one bit. It just wasn't very refined. Cymbals sounded muddy, detail was lost. The top end isn't there. I also used Nordost Red Dawn and they were pretty good. All the micro-detail got through but the texture and warmth wasn't quite there. I use Gabriel Gold Revelations now. They run a little less than a grand currently, but the Gabriel Gold Extreme's can be had for $450-500. I cannot recommend these cables enough. They portray all facets of sound. The detail, warmth, body and imaging. I cannot recommend them enough.