I like my Grado Sonata installed on an aged SME3009 MKII (detachable headshell ugh..) installed on an equally ancient and outmoded restored Thorens TD-125 belt drive TT which provide me with quite decent overall performance. The sound I hear is lively, warm, detailed and well extended - and it took some work to get it that way. This cartridge needs time to break in, sounds best at the high end of the recommended tracking force range and beyond, and it is particularly VTA sensitive - still I would characterize it as a somewhat 'polite' if revealing cartridge, but given the relatively unforgiving nature of my system I think it was a good choice - not having unlimited resources I do not know if it was the best choice.. A reasonable choice yes.. (Even if I had unlimited resources I don't think I would try more than a few cartridges before giving up.)
Seriously it is all about synergy and attention to detail. Don't expect to hit a home run right out of the gate. (A nice sounding platitude, but true.)
I remember people telling me that the 301/401 and TD-124 couldn't possibly sound good because they were ancient, and relied on outmoded idler drives - I ignored these tables when I could have easily afforded one because some so called 'experts' dismissed them, today, possibly too late I know a lot better.
Concurrently time wise inexpensive Japanese belt drives gave that technology a reputation for bottom of the barrel cost engineered dreck, and a whole generation grew up believing that serious TT performance required direct drive, about this time small upstarts like Merrill and VPI appeared showing that this was not the really the case. (The message was not widely received.)
Neither my TD-125 or SME3009MKII would be considered anywhere near SOTA, but their performance is hard to match at modern price points of 2X - 3X what I paid when properly set up. (Careful mods can further widen the gap.) It is no coincidence that people still find a place for these rather than in some landfill somewhere, and this setup brings me more music than anything I have owned heretofore, and indeed a lot of more expensive gear I have had the privilege of borrowing or just auditioning under familiar conditions. Not everything modern is a significant improvement over what came before, the fact that we are even discussing TT, arms, and cartridges at this point should telegraph that point clearly.
I'm not a big fan of DD TT and have heard the SP-10 and several big Kenwoods that were well respected in their day. My epiphany came at the hands of a $25 NIB AR-XA 20yrs ago that absolutely clobbered the Mitsubishi I thought to that very moment was pretty good - it absolutely wasn't. (Perhaps an isolated case, but it has driven me to listen very carefully before drawing any conclusions.)
I've had several ARs, a couple of Thorens, Technics, and Mitsubishi - and would love to have a TD-124 at some point.
FWIW while I am not recommending you go out and get an ancient SME 3009 (whatever) the cost of acquisition of one of these arms is not a whole lot more than the cost of modding the RB-250. Possibly you could consider experimenting with both, the RB-250 traditionally has been considered a good match to lower compliance MC type cartridges whilst most members of the SME 3009 clan are better matches for medium to high compliance types - some MC and quite a few MM, yet, oddly the very high mass., low compliance Ortofon SPU has also be widely used with this arm with good results.
I'm probably not helping, but ultimately it is all about your journey and experience, anyone here can tell you what they think (and believe me they will) and what they think you should do, in the end that does not mean you should do what they tell you. You learn by experience, experience is gained by making the occasional good decision or worse an egregious mistake - in most cases somewhat painfully rectified by a well considered sale on audiogon or eBay - and the advice you get here (including mine) may or may not be any better than a random shot in the dark.
Just have fun!
Seriously it is all about synergy and attention to detail. Don't expect to hit a home run right out of the gate. (A nice sounding platitude, but true.)
I remember people telling me that the 301/401 and TD-124 couldn't possibly sound good because they were ancient, and relied on outmoded idler drives - I ignored these tables when I could have easily afforded one because some so called 'experts' dismissed them, today, possibly too late I know a lot better.
Concurrently time wise inexpensive Japanese belt drives gave that technology a reputation for bottom of the barrel cost engineered dreck, and a whole generation grew up believing that serious TT performance required direct drive, about this time small upstarts like Merrill and VPI appeared showing that this was not the really the case. (The message was not widely received.)
Neither my TD-125 or SME3009MKII would be considered anywhere near SOTA, but their performance is hard to match at modern price points of 2X - 3X what I paid when properly set up. (Careful mods can further widen the gap.) It is no coincidence that people still find a place for these rather than in some landfill somewhere, and this setup brings me more music than anything I have owned heretofore, and indeed a lot of more expensive gear I have had the privilege of borrowing or just auditioning under familiar conditions. Not everything modern is a significant improvement over what came before, the fact that we are even discussing TT, arms, and cartridges at this point should telegraph that point clearly.
I'm not a big fan of DD TT and have heard the SP-10 and several big Kenwoods that were well respected in their day. My epiphany came at the hands of a $25 NIB AR-XA 20yrs ago that absolutely clobbered the Mitsubishi I thought to that very moment was pretty good - it absolutely wasn't. (Perhaps an isolated case, but it has driven me to listen very carefully before drawing any conclusions.)
I've had several ARs, a couple of Thorens, Technics, and Mitsubishi - and would love to have a TD-124 at some point.
FWIW while I am not recommending you go out and get an ancient SME 3009 (whatever) the cost of acquisition of one of these arms is not a whole lot more than the cost of modding the RB-250. Possibly you could consider experimenting with both, the RB-250 traditionally has been considered a good match to lower compliance MC type cartridges whilst most members of the SME 3009 clan are better matches for medium to high compliance types - some MC and quite a few MM, yet, oddly the very high mass., low compliance Ortofon SPU has also be widely used with this arm with good results.
I'm probably not helping, but ultimately it is all about your journey and experience, anyone here can tell you what they think (and believe me they will) and what they think you should do, in the end that does not mean you should do what they tell you. You learn by experience, experience is gained by making the occasional good decision or worse an egregious mistake - in most cases somewhat painfully rectified by a well considered sale on audiogon or eBay - and the advice you get here (including mine) may or may not be any better than a random shot in the dark.
Just have fun!
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