SPU upgrade

[Jjarchive]

Any thoughts on the Hana Red?

 

[Yeti]

It’s a modern cartridge with a microline stylus, your brief was for something less resolving.

In that vein:
The other living fossil, the Denon 103 might make a good stand in while the SPU is rebuilt and has the advavtage of being relatively cheap. High coil resistance though so careful with the SUT.

The Shelter 301 II also comes with a conical stylus if you want to spend more, I’ve never heard a Shelter. I’ve read that they’re not too demanding of the tonearm.

The EMTs seem the closest to the SPU concept but different, if you can get one to suit your phono stage/SUT combination.

 

[Shuggie]

I can recommend Sculpture A's A.3 cartridges, which are heavily reworked DL-103s, where only the magnetic circuit is retained. These cartridges have the same sort of musical exuberance as good SPUs but with modern Ogura tips and boron cantilevers they offer real delicacy too, as well as good tracking performance. My only criticism is the lack of stylus guard, but I am assured that is being addressed.

More details here https://anamightysound.com/cat/cartridges/sculpture-a/

 

[Jjarchive]

It’s a modern cartridge with a microline stylus, your brief was for something less resolving.

In that vein:
The other living fossil, the Denon 103 might make a good stand in while the SPU is rebuilt and has the advavtage of being relatively cheap. High coil resistance though so careful with the SUT.

The Shelter 301 II also comes with a conical stylus if you want to spend more, I’ve never heard a Shelter. I’ve read that they’re not too demanding of the tonearm.

The EMTs seem the closest to the SPU concept but different, if you can get one to suit your phono stage/SUT combination.

That's what I guessed about the Hana. Interesting you mention the Denon 103 -- I used one with a Midas body before the SPU Synergy. And I just sent it out to get retipped. I can go with a hyperelliptical which I understand would be related to the Synergy or try a line contact with a boron cantilever. I'm leaning to the line contact in the spirit of trying something in that spectrum. I'm thinking it might give me a better sense of an alternative to the SPUs. Or maybe I'll like it enough that it won't be necessary.

 

[mtemur]

IMHO/IME it’s best to get a cartridge with spherical stylus and aluminum or aluminum/magnesium cantilever for vintage sound. and for modern sound or overall best sound micro ridge/super fine line or similarly cut modern stylus with boron cantilever. there is something I really like about cartridges with boron cantilever

 

[Yeti]

I used a Dynavector 17D3 while my Royal N was away for a rebuild and found I was really missing the SPU, even though some would have that it’s not a proper one.