Analog Upgrade Suggestions Welcome

Hmmm, I'm trying to square this statement,

Setting VTA is a hassle. I prefer to set it up so that things sound good for records of average thickness and forget about tweeking it. I would go nuts adjusting the VTA for every record. I just want to listen to the music.

with this one,

I use the LPs as more of a sonic treat for special occasions. I tend to appreciate it more.

But if it's a special occasion wouldn't it be worth...
Never mind, I'll shut up. :-)

Based on your music mix I would love to recommend a ZYX R100 ($800). I think you'd be truly pleased at the uncolored, natural sounding instruments and voices, the realistic detail that's always there but never intrudes itself onto the music and the superlative tracking and tracing of even the toughest grooves.

Unfortunately, that wonderful groove tracing and all its sonic benefits is largely due to the ZYX's microridge stylus. If you don't set SRA precisely to match the record, the magic won't quite happen. This is true of any cartridge to some degree, but it's truer of microridge and line contact styli than it is of elliptical or conical styli.

OTOH, why not a ZYX? If you're in the "kick back and relax" mood nothing unpleasant will ever come from it. It may sound a bit relaxed and distant, but perhaps that would suit your mood. For those special occasions you can adjust it to perfection and wow yourself and your friends.

Yeah, buy a ZYX. It's an excellent match for your tonearm and it can play to suit either of your listening moods. Go for the low output version. It's more responsive, delicate and detailed and your Classe phono has plenty of gain.

P.S. Yes I have a Shelter 901 as my second cartridge, it's a distant second to be honest. The 901 is livelier for rock than a ZYX, but a ZYX quite outclasses it for jazz, folk, classical or any other music with acoustic instruments and voices. The 901 wouldn't be an ideal match for your arm, as we discussed, but if you want to hear it I'll be posting a home demo offer fairly soon. Keep your eyes on this forum.

You have a very nice system. My suggestion is to first make sure your turntable sits on a very rigid surface. Excuse me if you already have that covered but it's important. Also, it needs to be placed in a table friendly spot lacking frequency re-enforcement. That being said and considering your admitted laziness I would suggest the Sumiko Blackbird. I have a particular fondness for the Sumiko line of cartridges because they enjoy a stylus design that minimizes surface noise, aren't fussy about VTA from record to record, work well with most trailing edge arms and are a great bang for the buck. Of course, Doug is dead on with his recommendations but he is also looking to extract the last bit of magic out of the grooves. You haven't gotten bitten by that bug yet but you will if you pay attention to the details while you make this modest investment. Also, either invest in proper set up tools and ask one of the experts here to walk you step by step (on the phone) through the set up or pay a professional to do so. No cartridge, whatever the cost, will make magic happen if it's not installed correctly. Good luck.

Mark,
That does indeed change things. The Grado Ref and other high compliance carts become viable, a Shelter goes out the window altogether. A ZYX would work with the optional headshell weight, but that's only available on higher priced models AFAIK. Now where did I get 11g? Whatever, I'm sure SME's manual is better than my memory. Good thing you looked and sorry for almost steering you wrong. Guess I'm getting too old to do this stuff from memory.

There are fewer high compliance MC's than low-mid compliance ones. Grado, some VdH's, some Ortofons, some Sumikos. The Blackbird mentioned by Lugnut would certainly work well. If his description is appealing I'd certainly trust his ears.

I have spoken with several dealers with vast experience setting up analog rigs, and all have successfully used the Shelter 901 with an SME 309.

Mark,
One could "successfully" use nearly any cartridge on nearly any tonearm. They'd all play music. The idea is not that a Shelter wouldn't play or play well. It just wouldn't play its best. A more compatible catridge *would* play its best and give you maximum performance for your cartridge dollars.

YMMV of course, but if optimum performance is what you're after then optimum equipment matching is the way to achieve it.