"Harder" cartridge recomendation


After some time with EMT TSD15SPH, which is basically my first serious cart (along with it's EMT930 platform and 929 arm), I comeback to the question of finding something faster, "harder", more transparent perhaps but I do like "bigger sound". I'm mounting a second arm on 930: SME3012R and I'm looking for a fast cart in 1-1.2kEU range. Phono is a diy 834 with Tribute nano crystal SUT's.

I've been looking at SPU Royal N, but IIRC EMT somehow derives from the SPU family, so it may or may not be what I have in mind.

Any opinions? Thanks,
bydlo
bydlo
Lewm, perhaps I did not say it explicitly, but what I'm thinking of is to try to mix the oposites: euphonic pre with a "harder" cart. I do like 834. I want to see
what it does with a more agressive cart. If this approach is a dead end or not I do not know. I hope not.

"starting with the EMT turntable, tonearm, and cartridge, you were bound to end up with their combined sonic signature on your music"

This is exactly something I'm trying to diversify by mounting the second arm and the cart. My vision is to have 929 + TSD15sph as a sort of "romantic" combo and a second combo, more ...hmm...complex let's say. For the 2nd arm, the 930 will serve only as a table, there will be no more EMT stuff in the chain. Why 3012R? Simply by reputation, reasonable price, and an occasion to buy one in a perfect shape.

Borrowing parts...albeit living in one of world's most well known cities, I feel like I'm in a sort of a technological desert ;) What I do think of doing is to try different SUT's, e.g. Dave Slagle
It would take a truly annoying cartridge to reverse the romantic slant of the other stuff in your signal chain is perhaps a simpler way of re-stating my thesis. The most neutral cartridges I have heard are the TOTL Transfiguration cartridges, the Temper, Orpheus, Phoenix. But those are very neutral, not "hard". Great products, IMO. You might get a Phoenix within your price range, used. Don't include the Glider in your shopping list; it's not in the same class with the others, IMO. On the MM side, you might find an Acutex to your liking, also very neutral.

By the way, this can go on forever. We pitch cartridges, and you hit them out of the park, along with the advice. But that's your privilege.
Lewm, thanks. I'll take a look. Yes, with the 2nd arm I'd like to proceed by contraries. Apart from Transfiguration, any interesting cart in the Shelter and Benz families?

BTW, why you guys want to behave like primabalerinas and get offended if your advice is not received kneeing is only known to you...I'm grateful, but not uncritical. I cut my system to my taste. The only cart which has been proposed was FR7 and my objection was that it's 2nd hand which I wanted to avoid if possible, which I tried to explain why.
Finally, I started thinking more seriously about it but it seems that i) there is no experience on how it matches SME3012R
and ii) how to recognize if the cart is in a good shape. To me both things seems logical.
What other carts have I "hit out of the park" (whatever) God only knows.

Bydlo, picka ti materina! There is one FR-7fz on ebay.uk
for 1090 GBP. Looks like the underwear of Michelle Pfeifer.
Item nr.150862965820. If you are not satisfied you can object
by ebay with the argument: 'not as described' (by some Serbian).
Bydlo, another cartridge I am seriously considering and think will suit your requirement very well is the Yamamoto YC-03s. Please read about it. You can buy brand new within your budget.