"Paul" wrote in message
news:KO3Ta.118474$H17.36641@sccrnsc02...
My Sumiko Talisman Virtuoso Boron finally bit the big one. I've had it
for
about 12 years, and it has served me well. Set my table up the other
day, a
year or so after moving, got the pump running, and finally noticed that
the
cantilever was pushed up into the cartridge body. (R.I.P.) Now my
dilemna
of course is what to replace it with. I have an Oracle Delphi Mk. 3
with an
Eminent Tech ET2 Air Bearing arm. I have been looking online at the
Clearaudio, and the Benz Micro's around the $750.00 - $1000.00 range,
but
haven't really seen much besides price lists. I haven't had a copy of
TAS
or Stereophile for a few years now, so I'm not sure what the scoop is on
new
stuff. Basically, I'm just looking for some feedback or info on what
people
are listening to now. Also, what are the feelings on used or demo
cartridges? Say in the 100 - 300 hour range. This may be able to bump
me
up to a nicer cartridge. Any thoughts are appreciated.

I've been using an Ortofon MC-30 Super Mk II for the past several years.
It's a low output MC in your price range and offers excellent sound
quality. It has a 0.2 mV output level and I run it into 200 pF and 100
ohms, with 68 dB of gain. I like it a lot. Here's more info:
http://www.ortofon.com/html/body_mov...html?varenr=13
13051