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New cart for under 1K

I am looking to buy a new cartrdige for my setup. My current system consists of a VPI Scout II with a Black Knight platter and 10.5SE tonearm (the TT Michael Fremer demonstrated a cartridge setup at last years show in NYC), JM Focal 936's, Mac solid state power & pre, and a Dynavector P-75 phono pre-amp. The Focal's are very accurate and tend to be bright in the highs. Brightness is what I am trying to avoid. I've found the highs to be too harsh for my liking, especially with vocals. Sibilance is also an issue and something I have attempted to control with speaker placement, VTA, damping fluid, and the tone controls on my old Mac preamp. My current cart is a Grado Gold. I am hopeful that upgrading to a new cartridge helps eliminate some of the treble harshness and provides a sweeter overall sound. I'm interested in the Dynavector 20x2 so far. Any other suggestions for 1K or under, Benz, Ortofon, Sumiko (Blackbird, a little over 1K, but what the hell)?

Thanks for you assistance!
davidlillis
nanbil's avatar
nanbil
40 posts
 
I too recommend the Denon DL-S1; it is a wonderful cartridge. Because of its extremely low output you have to have a really fine phono stage.
dopogue
1,767 posts
 
David, I shared your feeling that a wood-clad cart would sound better BECAUSE of the wood. For a while, everyone was doing this to Denon 103 carts and so did I, putting a neat-looking Panzerholz "pod" on mine after removing the plastic body. Others reported liking this change a lot. I thought it simply veiled and dulled the sound and ended up back with the original plastic, selling the pod. At least two other folks had the same reaction, so I'm not totally alone :-)
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
Thank you all for the continued responses. My phono preamp is a Dynavector P-75. I'm close to making a decision and think I'm going to borrow a Dynavector 20X2 and see how I like the way it sounds. I figure if I can get a hold of one to try for free, I've got nothing to lose. I do like the idea of selling my speakers and purchasing something not as bright as the Focal's but one thing at a time. Since I have access to the Dynavector, I'll see how it does with my current setup.

Thank you all again, I will update this post when I obtain the Dynavector and let you all know what I think.
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
Or you could jump on the $700 XX-2 for sale used here right now. A killer cart.

No affiliation with seller.
davidlillis OP
27 posts
 
Roscoeiii,

Thanks man! I think I'm going to jump on the XX-2! I'm assuming that it'll be a fine match with my Dynavector P-75, are there any reasons why I should think otherwise? Also, do you know why the cart would get 8 out 10?

Thanks again, I think this may be a rare opportunity.
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