Spindrifter, that's what this forum is for, helping one another. The Shure is a really great cartridge, very underrated in audiophile circles. I like the felt mat too, the only contender here is the Ringmat, which sounds different, but not necessarily better. How about swapping out the headshell leads for the aftermarket ones offered by Audioquest, cost is less than $20.00. A new arm cable will be a big benefit too. Nice ones can be had on this site for under $100.00. I like the Van Den Hul, other nice ones are made by Cardas, Audioquest, Tara, etc. Changing the wire will be a big deal. Some like to replace the feet with threaded tiptoes. This may or may not work. There are some nice aftermarket headshells as well, such as the Orsonics mentioned above. Well, how about a free tweek? Take the headshell off of the arm. You see that little rubber gasket at the collet end of the headshell? Remove it and put the whole thing back together. Don't worry, you can always put it back if you don't like the way it sounds. You may have to adjust overhang and tracking force, but not by much. Tell me what you think. The change in sound is really profound, but you may prefer it or not.
Marty