$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path



I am putting together an analog system, starting with the cartridge. I like a well-balanced sound with a slightly lush midrange and excellent extension at the frequency extremes. The cartridge should be a reasonably good tracker. Here are my choices:

1. Dynavector Karat 17D MkII
2. Shelter 501
3. Sumiko Black Bird
4. Grado Statement Master
5. Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood

Which one comes closest to my wish list? Which one would you choose?

Here are the upgrade cartridges to the above list, one of which would be purchased later:

1. Shelter 901
2. Benz Micro L2
3. Grado Statement Reference
4. Koetsu Black

Which one comes closest to my wish list? Which one would you choose?

Now, which turntable/tonearm combination (for new equipment up to $4,500) would you choose to handle a cartridge from the first group and the upgrade cartridge from the second group?

Any help you can provide is greatly welcomed. Thanks!
artar1

Viggen,

If I am a fan of Edmund Husserl, it is without my conscious knowledge and it is quite by chance within the limitations of my “eighth-grade” education, now strained to the maximum!

With a quick Internet query, Husserl seems to be very partial to phenomenology, and is even credited with creating it. While I am an avid supporter of objectivism and positivism, there are, I must admit, states of being and objects in our environment that defy reductionism, experimentation, measurement, and quantification in purely analytical terms. For example, the feeling of love might be measured via a galvanic-skin response, but the depth and nature of that love is largely unmeasurable as being distinct from any other human emotion, such as fear. Both can be detected by sensitive instruments, but the “machine” can only tell us that an emotion has been expressed physiologically, not which feeling. In phenomenology, inner experience is not only accepted, it is encouraged along with a precise vocabulary to describe events, observations, feelings, and sensations. I submit that much of subjective audio reviewing is phenomenological in nature and not scientific, although there are some who might claim otherwise!

If anyone is interested in knowing more about Husserl, here is a brief synopsis I found while cruising the Internet:

>>Husserl is the father of phenomenology. Born in the former Czechloslovakia, Husserl studied in Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna, where he also taught. He began his studies as a mathemetician, but his studies were influenced by Brentano, who moved him to study more psychology and philosophy. He wrote his first book in 1891, The Philosophy of Arithmetic. This book dealt mostly with mathematical issues, but his interests soon shifted. Husserl immersed himself in the study of logic from 1890-1900, and he soonafter produced another text: Logical Investigations(1901).

Some of his major ideas of this era were intentionality, relations, and identity of things. He came to focus on perceptual experience, and as he began to shed his early Kantian ways, he wrote Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy(1913). His last three books were Formal and Transcendental Logic(1929), Cartesian Meditations(1931), and Lectures on the Phenomenology of Inner Time-Consciousness(1928), a group of lectures he compiled and edited. His lectures and essays comprise a large amount of his works.

Husserl attempted to shift the focus of philosophy away from large scale theorization, towards a more precise study of discrete phenomena, ideas and simple events. He was interested in the essential structure of things, using eidetic analysis of intensionality to yield apodictic(necessary) truths.

Husserl aided philosophy, breaking the Cartesian trap of dualism with new ideas like intensionality. He was perhaps the most important force in revitalizing 20th century continental philosophy.<<
Dan_ed,

Thanks again for your endorsement of the Rhea. I am sure you are very happy with that phono stage.

As you may know by now, I must wait until next April before I can spend any more money on audio equipment. (I must get through Tax Season before I blow the big wad!) So I can’t take advantage of the current used Rheas on Audiogon. Even if I could, we are looking at a good $700 or more over my budget. (Ouch!)

Without a doubt, the Rhea was a big improvement for your system. I know what you mean by adding more highs, lows, and dynamics. The Klyne did that for me in regards to my Conrad-Johnson PV14L ($2,500) and Proceed AVP ($5,000). And like the Rhea, the Klyne is so quiet that when I place my ear against the loudspeaker, I hear nothing, no hum and no hiss. I can’t say that for either my CJ or Proceed units.

>>Some might find the sound a tad bright, but that will vary from person to person.<<

Hmmm. I have heard the opposite reported by the audio press. It surprises me there would be any brightness at all. Could it be the cartridge? Maybe a different loading is in order? I am only guessing.

>>BTW, that 10x thing is a rule of thumb, not a law of physics if you catch my meaning.<<

I understand what you are saying.

>>The numbers for your system are close enough that only a listen in your system would allow you to know for sure.<<

Unfortunately, that may not be possible.

>>I haven't gotten to rolling in better tubes, which would probably help with the somewhat bright presentation.<<

What tubes did you have in mind? If the Rhea is at all bright, it won’t work very well with my Martin Logans.

>>My previous phono stage was a fully modified EAR 834P, a very solid performer for the money and perhaps you could investigate that unit as a candidate.<<

I now see where you might feel the Rhea is a tad bright. The EAR 843P is more than a tad dark.

Rushton,

>>My recommendation of the Aesthetix Rhea comes from my grounding in the Aesthetix Io Signature phono stage.<<

No more needs to be said. That unit is truly state of the art.

I will see what I can do in regards to buying the Rhea, but I can’t make any promises.
Rushton is right on the money concerning my "bright" characterisation of the Rhea. To put things in context I was moving from a MMF 7/834P setup to a Basis 2001/Rhea combination. So it is understandable that at the time I would get this as a first impression. What little I have heard the BAT VK P10SE I would say that unit is a tad warmer than the Rhea, but they are really close. I would really love to hear an IO someday.

I haven't looked seriously into what tubes I might use in the Rhea but I will probably seek professional advice as it is critical to get the right, read quiet, tubes in the first stage.
Interesting and informative thread. While considering the arguements of which part of the analog playback system has the most impact another option occured to me. In my limited experience #1 on the 'order of importance' is the record itself. The quality of the recording, mastering, pressing, etc.. ultimately determines how good any turntable will sound. Therefore the largest expenditures should be on the vinyl itself. Sorry to fly off on another tangent.