IMO, the single biggest difference you can make to vinyl playback is to go to an arm that has VTA on-the-fly adjustment. Irrespective of cartridge, minute adjustments when you can hear the results reveal a whole new world of resolution.
I had a Planar 2 with a DV MR23RS back in the day and was very happy with it until I auditioned a table with a VTA OTF arm and the same cart. Blew me away. Bought the demo table and arm right off the dealer's floor the next day and have never looked back.
My 2 cents: Look at the arm first. Micro Seiki, Graham and a few others can be found second-hand, are easily mounted to the RP 6 and won't bust the budget. Any one of them will get more out of your Exact 2 than you've heard before.
Is going that route a bigger spend than just a new cartridge and some shims? Yes. The return on investment is unmatched, however. After using VTA OTF for awhile, then you can make a truly high-ROI decision on which MC to go with.
Good luck no matter which way you go and happy listening!
I had a Planar 2 with a DV MR23RS back in the day and was very happy with it until I auditioned a table with a VTA OTF arm and the same cart. Blew me away. Bought the demo table and arm right off the dealer's floor the next day and have never looked back.
My 2 cents: Look at the arm first. Micro Seiki, Graham and a few others can be found second-hand, are easily mounted to the RP 6 and won't bust the budget. Any one of them will get more out of your Exact 2 than you've heard before.
Is going that route a bigger spend than just a new cartridge and some shims? Yes. The return on investment is unmatched, however. After using VTA OTF for awhile, then you can make a truly high-ROI decision on which MC to go with.
Good luck no matter which way you go and happy listening!