Vinyl noob needs help with cartridge

If you're using the Audible Illusions preamp phono section, you're pretty much locked into an MM.  I happen to like it a lot (I had one for years), but it is (or, at least, was) optimized for MM/MI without the flexibility to adjust capacitance or gain.  It will probably work well with some HOMCs, but not so well with others.

That still leaves lots of good choices in your price range.  I assume that you're using the unipivot VPI arm, so a good match there is important, too.  You might think about the Grado MI carts which are IIRC reputed to be good mates for VPI.

My first "real" cartridge was a dynavector 10x5 and it can be had for $500. I was very pleased by it for a long time. My previous cart was a $35 junko that came with the regs rp1 table. I ran the dynavector for a year or two, and then I stepped it up to a Lyra Delos. Anyway, I can recommend the Dynavector. It's a solid piece of gear.

I have been reading the posts and looking at the options.  I think for my first cart I am sticking with something new not nos.  That way I can rely on the vendor for setup assistance, etc.. I am also leaning towards getting either an ifi micro or ckearaudio nano phono stage.  

I recently set set up a new mapleshade Samson rack with 4" shelves and honestly don't have the real estate for anything but a tiny phono.  I don't want to have to pull my current preamp out of the rack.  Plus my audible illusions limits me to mm only.  The ifi and nano both allow some experimentation and adjustability will all carts.

so now it's narrowed down to which phono stage and which of the following cartridges; Zu modded denon, dynavector 10x5, ortofon 2m bronze, sound smith otello or audio technica (and which one the oc9 or is the at33 worth the money)?

The dynavector 10x5 is MC...

What is your total budget for a phono stage and a cartridge?