Quote Originally Posted by dean_martin
I have a Pro-Ject 1.2 turntable. I replaced the stock cart, a Sumiko Oyster, with a NOS Parasound cart with significant improvement in balance. The Oyster favored hi frequencies and sounded thin to me. But the Parasound was only $35.00 and was intended to hold me over until I had the money to get something better. Now that I'm ready to upgrade, I'm considering the Grado Reference Platinum. My table was $285. The Platinum is $270. Is this too much cart for the Pro-Ject?

I was originally thinking of spending about half the cost of the table. My other choices are the Grado Prestige Gold or the Ortofon Super OM 20, both of which I've found for around $130. Your thoughts or other recommendations will be appreciated.
My experience is that the Pro-Ject arms are good enough to work with more expensive cartridges. I don't think this would be overkill despite the prices. If you were going to get into the stratosphere of cartridges, I'd suggest you upgrade your turntable but I think you're going to be pleased with the improvement. The Grado should sound better balanced and give you some nice bass as well! Enjoy!