Old VPI Scout: Cartridge Help

I will definitely try lowering VTA. I also am buying a mint jig to be more exact for future carts.

I do think it's a great cart. I think it's my personnel taste lean to the warm side. I also think it's a system mismatch.

The table is great. I pretty confident I will be using it for years.

Eventually I want a Tube pre.

I'm using the same table and used several of the 20X series Dynavectors before going with a AT OC9MLII at the suggestion of Keith Herron, who designed my phono stage. Wonderful match for the VPI Scout/JMW9. There is one that just came up for sale here for $300 with very low hours. I think you may be very happy with this combination but it would help to know what phono stage you are using as well as the rest of your system. Changing the cartridge alone may not get you where you want to go. Would you describe your system as "bright and forward" with other signal sources or just with the Ortofon in the system?

Grado Gold1 or up

Sadly my system is made up of uncommon components. This creates a problem in gathering informed advice. Especially because I am a newbie.

The phono stage is the one in my pre-amp which is an Exposure XVII/17. It's got the MM board only and by all accounts on the Web it's a great phono stage. Many seem to indicate 1000k + to get a solid improvement. It does sound very natural.

The amps are exposure XVII mono blocks. From reading up these amps do better with speakers that are lower sensitivity and lean to the warm side. Paired with high sensitivity you can pickup some noise and bright speakers can make the highs a little sharp.

Well my speakers are a good fit. My old creek tuner is never bright quite warm creek cas3140. My cd players is good too Marantz cd 5004 after getting a decent interconnect.

Before the scout I had a project II with a Grado red. Of course the blue on the scout has way more resolution. Way better tracking. Bigger more open soundstage. Better layering with recordings that have it. The project and grado did seem to have more precise placement in the soundstage than the scout/blue but that's about it.

I have moved the speakers closer to the back wall which helped move the sound back. I have heard exposure produce a deep sound stage and a forward one. I think the room plays a big role in this. Current room has a large alcove which I think plays a big role in presentation.

The grado/project didn't have the edge blue has. I did like the grado so maybe I should go up the line for grado. I really don't want to spend more 450.on cart.

Mainly because I do listen to used vinyl and it seems to make sense to get a used tube phono before spending close to 1000k on a cart. I would also like to open the option to go LOMC before buying a high priced cart.

I don't know if this is a sound strategy.