What cartridges are good fits for the Bellari 129

I am wondering the same thing, would some high ouput Moving Coils work good with the Bellari, say Denon 160 with 1.6mV but some claim more like 2.2mV or the Dynavector 20XH or the 10X at 2.5mV..

I don't have a cart recommendation, but I'm not sure I'd choose the Bellari as a means to try tubes. It doesn't behave any differently than a ss phono IMHO, is a little temperamental (noise/grounding issues) and I think overpriced frankly. I had one and thought it was a decent phone pre, but don't understand the hype. If you need a phono pre, compare it to others in the price range and pick the one you like. If you really want to try tubes, I'd try a tube preamp or line stage, or power amp. You can do this for only a little more $ commitment than the Bellari.

. . . just my 2 cents.

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The Bellari is very low gain, which means that the higher output the cartridge has, the better the dynamic range and the further the signal will be from the noise floor. If your preamp has a lot of gain, to further amplify the signal after it comes out of the Bellari, you can certainly use a high output MC, but as most range from 1.6 to 2.5mv, a MM with an output in the 5mv range may get you closer to the ideal. The usual MM suspects are Grado, Ortofon, Goldring, Shure and Audio Technica. What arm and table are you using and what is your musical taste?

I wouldn't say it's overpriced. It's practically the cheapest phono stage with a tube you can buy, and certainly the cheapest Stereophile class B rated phono stage. It does sound good with high output cartraiges. Fit n' finish could be better, but you can't have everything.