Dynavector DV 20X-L -- which MM will better it?

Axel, there's an abundance of disagreement about this topic, as you've no doubt noticed. Some listeners think the Shure V15mr was the apogee of MM technology. I'm among the other camp that was never particularly enchanted by it. To my ears, it was rather ho-hum. I much prefer the sound of Garrott Brothers cartridges. As you probably know, they lack US distribution at this time though. They can be ordered from Decibelhifi.com.au in Australia (their country of origin.) Paul Szabady has reviews of the Optim range which can easily be found online. Another MM I'd like to hear is the Reson Reca. It's based on the Goldring 1042, but tweaked to a higher level of performance. I've got a Goldring 1042 and it's got many positive attributes that make it particularly suited to rock, blues, & some jazz. It lacks the refinement that I want for more textured and subtle music like classical. Supposedly, the Reca addresses those areas of shortcomings. In the end though, I doubt that any MM is going to have the treble resolution and nuance of a good MC. I do like the non-fusiness of MM cartridges and the well integrated musical wholeness of the good ones. The Soundsmith cartridges are another non MC design that sounds worth investigating as well.

Thanks Photon46,
there is a Reson Reca review by e.g. t-n-t out there, see: http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/resone.html
It does not strike me as a 'MC killer' exactly, i.e. not the best pick for classical, which I listen to a lot, but neither would the 20X-L qualify.

Interestingly there is also a review on a Shure V15xMR and it was the preferred cart for some other well read (myself that is) t-n-t reviewer, who slightly preferred it over the 20X-L, tested a bit later on, see:
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/shurev15_e.html
I just ask that comparison to get some idea what I'm getting into looking for some MMs and knowing the sound of the 20X-L pretty well.

Greetings,
Axel

Most of the V-15s featured a drooping response across the midrange, a defect that could be corrected by loading. Aftermarket devices were offered overseas to do this. The 5 supposedly suffered less from this than earlier models and might well be a worthwhile purchase in good condition and fair price. I admit that I was never taken with the Shure sound but many were. I would advise you to buy a current model 97 and see how you like it. If you do you can search out a V-15 and if you don't you can sell it at a minimal loss. To my ears the 15 was never as good as others such as the Technics 205, which might have been the best ever MM. I have a couple of non working ones and am going to have them rebuilt someday. I never thought the MM had better detail than MC, in fact the reverse. The virtues of MM lay in a very smooth , well integrated sound; I always found them lacking an element of realism the MCs had but others didn't. In a recent HIFICRITIC cartridge review Martin Colloms gave a 15 year old 5 a very good rating, ahead of several expensive moving coils. Only you can tell if you agree.

I have gone back to MM cartridges after many years with MC. I find the good MM cartridges are more musical and the music just "flows" better. I agree that MC do have more detail, but I find, in my system, they tend to give up some "soul" of the music.

I have owned all of the Shure V15 series and still have a series 3 and the series 5. My favorite MM is the Grace F9E. Even in it's stock, original form it sounds better to me than any of the Shures, but with the SoundSmith $250 retip, it's the best MM I have ever heard.

I also have an Audio Techinca AT150ML that is very nice. I am currently listening to a Linn Adikt and find it very nice indeed. I think it deserves more praise than it gets.