Cartridge requires a breaking period. I found that it took at least 10 hours for the sound to smooth out and the image to open up. After about 20 hours I think it's optimal. Excellent sounding cartridge, fairly comparable to the Shure V15Vxmr, which is saying a lot. I think this cartridge would work best with a medium mass tonearm. I found that VTA and azimuth adjustments are critical. Even being slightly off affects the sound performance. Highly recommended. Pricing seems all over the board, so shop around.