Cartridge under $600 for VAC VPI HW

chakster, I don't question either your expertise or your hearing. Even without understanding a thing about cartridges, like you I would not buy that Italian cartridge based on those specifications. If I could audition it before buying that might be different.
As for longing for the golden age of analog, I think most of us have it.
I like tape,vinyl is close to it, so yeah..

@ chakster

The closest I went for vintage was a used McIntosh MA6600 integrated which I bought from audio Classics. I bought a used Dynavector DV20L here on Audiogon and I got a Cartridge with a collapsed suspension. The seller gave me half my money back. Never again will I buy a used Cartridge. I wish I had kept my Shure V15 type 3 and 4 and my Pickering 681eee but at the time I got sucked in to a Ortofon MC20 and then realized a year later I wasn’t spinning vinyl any longer. Forget the specs, if you ever get a chance to listen to the Vasari Gold you will realize it is something quite special. It makes beautiful music with my Conrad Johnson amp, Rogue RP5 preamp and GE Triton References speakers

I know the seller on audiogon who sells defective cartridges and asking buyers to cover paypal fee, without paypal invoice for purchaced item buyer never get "protection" if the money sent as a gift. Some sellers are dishonest, but when we buy something on ebay we are always protected if the item description in not accurate. Full refund is quaranteed by "paypal buyers protection", including return shipping. That's it, some people just don't know how it really works. I've had a few issues only when i made personal payments, but on ebay i have never had an issue when i bought used cartridges.

When cartridge suspension is collapsed it's clearly visible on the picture of the cartriidge taken after playin one side of the record from the side view.

    

Chakster  I am with you 100%. I see that attitude prevalent in all of Audio. Everybody thinks because it's new and modern it must be good. It's just ridiculous what manufacturers are charging for some of these circuits that are 60  years old but in a fancy case. 

Have you contacted VPI? Shouldn't they be able to help?