MC cartridge for an SME3009 SII

[marcanto]

Hi Diyaudio people .I'm about to replace my old grado MCZ .
I've a walker 55 turntable and the sme 3009 II, any suggestion
for the new cart.? I was to switch to MC cart. but don't know
wich one could really match the arm. Was thinking of a Dynavector
'20 xh or sumiko blue point special,anyone to give me a few hints?
I've heard that MC cart' aren't suitable for 3009 t.arm .Shouldi keep on
with MM's? finally i'm looking for a warm .depht . wide perspective
cart. Please some help,
ciao
Marco

[m.parigi]

Ciao! Actually the SME II isn't too bad with MC if you use a high compliance cartridge.
The main area of trouble seems to be the vertical articulation, which is a "blade" type (a lama di coltello). I think that you could start with a Denon DL-103 which won't break the bank to see if you like the sound and will help you in testing and optimizing your pre-pre.

If you're in for something better, you may want to try a Ortofon cartridge, based on the requirements you mention it might be the perfect match for you.
I've used for some time a Kontrapunkt B with the SME 3009 II and the result was very good; you can get something cheaper and get very good results too.

Buona fortuna!

[EC8010]

I'd stick with moving magnets. The Series II arm will rattle its bearings with a low compliance cartridge (and moving coils are typically low compliance). This rattling will show up as sibilance and mistracking. I believe that the DL103 is quite popular in the original 3009, but that is a rather different arm.