Cartridge Upgrade: Which one?

[RnR]

Hey guys,

I have a Pro-Ject Debut III turntable that I feel could be better.  Its decent, not insanely high end, but a nice table.  After doing countless A/B tests and messing with placement, tracking force, settings, ext, I can honestly say my CD player (rega planet 2000) is more detailed, fuller, has better separation, higher output, and just overall sounds better than my TT (sacreligious, but true).  So I am thinking about upgrading my cartridge..

Do any of you have experience with this table, one similar, or even a completely different table and can suggest a cartridge?  Stock it comes with an Ortofon OM 5E (around $45).  It is apparently a "DJ" cartridge, not exactly sure what that means.  It is skinnier, as opposed to most others i see that are more square.  I have tossed around the idea of getting a higher end Ortofon (red, blue), and also been told by Rev and Tom that Grados are awesome.  My budget is probably around $200 tops.

I realize a lot of this is subjective, and that what works great in one system with one set of ears could work poorly in different situations.  But nonetheless, can you guys suggest some carts that worked well for you?

FYI I am running a Carver M500, C-01 combo and Klipsch forte II's (pretty bright).  I am into punk, rock, instrumental surf, ska, rocksteady, latin, horns, italian cafe, vocal, ambient, ext.

Any experiences/suggestions would be awesome.  Thank you

[Reverend]

Buy a Grado Gold from Tom, it's under your budget and in my opinion the best you can buy at that price point.

[SunnyDaze]

I second the Grado Gold.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I love my AT 440 MLa and it was a huge bargain at $99 when I got it, but they are much more than that now.   I've not heard the Grado Gold, but most of their stuff is amazing bang for the buck.

[schwarcw]

I like the Ortofon Blue at that price point.

[OldiesButGoodies]

I would say buy a Denon moving coil cart (and a step up trans if your preamp does not handle MC).  Note that good vinyl sounds better than CD. Bad vinyl will sound worse no matter what cart and TT you have. Bad vinyl = worn,  poorly treated, dirty.    So a better cart will not magically fix the situation unless you have good LPs to play. 

 

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Some of the Denon MCs are high output and don't require a step up.

[bearjew]

grado gold.  there's a reason tom wanted to become a dealer for them.  hurry and let him know, he's going to be putting in an order in couple of weeks

[tinpan]

Both the Grado Gold and the AT 440 MLa would be good choices. I got my AT 440 MLa on sale for $67 and I couldn't believe how nice it was, now they are over $200. Still very nice and probably worth it but I like the old pricing better. I also have the Grado Gold, a couple of them and I think they would help tame the brightness of your Fortes.