Entry Level MC Recommendations?

At the entry level for moving carts, you could end up with either a thin aggressive sound, or a large and possibly unpleasant departure from what you're used to. Given your budget, it might make more sense to send the cart back to Soundsmith and let them repair it.

There is another option, assuming the body/generator isn't damaged. IMO it's not as good as sending it to Soundsmith, but you could restore it to orig performance, yourself.

Go to LpGear and look for replacement stylus under LpGear brand. There you will find replacement styli for the AT-95. The ATN95SE (.3 x .7 elliptical) is $45. They also have ones w/vivid line - $89, and shibata - $129. These are all bonded diamonds on a straight alum cantilever. Soundsmith offers a nude .3 x .7 on a tapered cantilever.

If the plastic piece is still on the bottom of your cart, pry it out. This is the "plug", which is the plastic that holds the cantilever and magnets. If you want it to look like the orig, cut away the excess plastic wings on the replacement. A wire cutter works good for this. Just insert it in the receptacle. You just have to be careful trimming the wings.

I've tried the shibata and I'm not sure if it's worth the difference compared to a Soundsmith re-tip, but the 3 x 7 replacement option is a way for you to repair it inexpensively if you want to try something else. IMO you're not going to find anything for $300 that competes. BTW, the AT-95 is a different motor in the same body style and is great for the money, but not a Virtuoso. For the ultimate, send it to Axel in Germany, for a boron/Gyger replacement, but that is prob outside your budget.
Regards,

I have an Ortofon MC 25 FL for sale - email me if you are interested. Only 5 hours of eval use.

Another vote for Dynavector.

OK, so here's what I'm going to do . . .

First of all, thank you so much for your replies to my questions! You all helped me to see that MC at the price point I was considering would have been a step down from the Clearaudio/Soundsmith. And I learned that when I do decide to test the MC waters, I will have to pay special attention to impedance/load matching with my amp. Thanks!

So . . . I'm going to suffer the wait and send the cart to Mr. Lederman for a second rebuild with the ruby cantelever. I'm not even going to get a cart to use in the meantime; I have a very satisfying music server (Squeezebox Touch/W4S DAC1) with nearly 2 TB of lossless/Hi Res music, so I'm not exactly suffering! And just imagine the joy my vinyl will bring when the rebuilt cartridge finally comes!

Last question: Does anyone know of a stylus guard that could be snapped on when I'm not playing records so this doesn't happen again?