$300 Cartridge recommendations

[Billy Budapest]

With the holidays coming up, I am being "given" $300.00 to spend on a present for myself by one of my relatives. Their rationale is that I know what to spend the $300 on better than they do. And I BET they never would have thought of buying me a phono cartridge.

Anyway, do you have any recommendations for a $300 cartridge? I am thinking of the following:

-Grado Platinum ($299)
-Sumiko Blue Point No.2 ($299)
-Ortofon OM-40 ($349--I'll have to kick in a little for this one)

My turntable is a circa 1988 Denon DP-23F and my phon preamp is a Musical Fidelity X-DACv3. Both are on the "warmer" side of the scale, as are all my pieces of hardware. My interconnects (Kimber PBJ), speaker cables (Triangle Silver Ghost), and speakers (Triangle Titus 202's) are on the brighter side, so everything balances out rather nicely. That being said, at this point I would prefer a "warmer" cartridge over a brighter one simply to attenuate surface noise. I know that the Grado is warmer than the Blue Point,but I don't know where on the spectrum the Ortofon lies.

Any other contenders? Moving magnet or moving coil doesn't matter to me. Thanks!

[MusicMtnMonkey]

I would get an MC over an MM if I had a choice...

I would highly recommend the Audio Technica AT33ptg, but you have to special order this cart from Japan from audiocubes.com. They have a DOA exchange only policy, no returns (check their info, don't believe me, just be informed...). For me it came in about 5 business days from when I ordered it (pretty darn fast)...

If you want to get a more readily available US model go for the OC9 MLII.

I chose the AT because it has a boron cantilever and a fine line stylus. The higher end brand, low priced MC choices in this price range have, cheaper needles IMHO (the Denon 103 has a nice fine line stylus like the AT, but I am not includind Denon in "higher end brands").

From what little I could find from my research the OC 9 and AT33ptg are pretty darn similar. The AT33ptg has "more pure" copper and a different body style.

Finally both of these carts are low output MC, will your pre amp be able to handle them or are you planning Cinemags or some other SUT?

[Graham Start]

I'm strongly considering an Audio-Technica AT-150MLX myself...

[pbthal]

I'm strongly considering an Audio-Technica AT-150MLX myself...


I have the AT150MLX and I love it

[OcdMan]

(the Denon 103 has a nice fine line stylus like the AT, but I am not includind Denon in "higher end brands").

The Denon DL-103 actually has a conical stylus not a fine-line. From what I've read though, it performs like a fine-line stylus. Very rare to get that kind of perfomance from a conical stylus.

[OcdMan]

Here's a Stereo Review test report of the Ortofon 540 that I posted a while back. Very positive. I'm tempted to buy both this and the Audio-Technica 150MLX and have myself a shoot out.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=91096

[MusicMtnMonkey]

The Denon DL-103 actually has a conical stylus not a fine-line. From what I've read though, it performs like a fine-line stylus. Very rare to get that kind of perfomance from a conical stylus.

Thanks for straightening out the details on the Denon, I've never had a 103, but I've read the reviews claiming the Denon has a nice needle. The Denon is polished or machined more finely than the average Conical stylus??

More importantly to what I posted, what do other people think about the needle offerings by Benz, Dynavector, and Grado (mm but low output) in the $300 range, not as high end/quality/small dimensioned as the AT fine line needle for playing 33 1/3 lp's?? (comparing the same price range, you can of course get nicer needles with other brand's cart, just in a higher price range)

[Billy Budapest]

The Ortofon OM-40 also has a nude fine line stylus. Anybody listened to it before?

[vinyl anachronist]

You should just spend a little more and get a Dynavector 10X5.

[OcdMan]

You should just spend a little more and get a Dynavector 10X5.

I've never heard of a 10x5 owner that didn't completely love that cartridge. :thumbsup:

[visprashyana]

The Dynavector is really much better than the other choices. It has a much faster and dynamic sound along with greater tracking capabilities. The Dynavectors are truly recommended!

[Billy Budapest]

You should just spend a little more and get a Dynavector 10X5.

I gotta stick to $300. The rules of the game. However, if I went with the Ortofon OM-40 I'd be breaking the rules anyway . . .

[DrJ]

I can't comment from personal experience on the Blue Point, but I had a higher end Sumiko cart, the Blackbird, and sold it. It sells for about $200 more than the Blue Point.

On the plus side the Blackbird had a really beautiful, open, "airy" sound and phenomenal dynamic range - on passages where it tracked well, the bass was quite simply to die for. On the downside, I do think the highs were a bit boosted to give a feeling of "air," and more significantly it was just not a great tracker - eventually, audible mistracking artifact on hot passages and near the inner groove tracks drove me nuts, no matter what I did with cart setup I couldn't get it to improve and I found myself just listening to that and not being able to enjoy its attributes.

Caveats are:

1) The Blackbird might simply have been a poor match for my Nottingham Space Arm, but all I can say is my Shure V15VxMR gives me no such grief, it tracks everything though it is slightly less dynamic and open-sounding (dead neutral, a true reference cart).

2) I have heard that there are many folks who are less sensitive to mistracking artifact than I appear to be...so perhaps the tracking issues wouldn't bug you. I really wish I could have ignored that stuff, as I greatly enjoyed the cartridge in other ways.

The reason I mention all this is that I have read quite a few people say that the Blue Point isn't that great, far inferior to the Sumiko, and I had problems even with the Sumiko so perhaps you want to think carefully about the Blue Point. Can't comment on the others you list as I haven't heard them. Have fun!

[www.records]

I think if it was my decision, I would buy an AT440mla (mm) and a Denon 110 or 160 (HOMC). Use the change to take your sweety out for some sushi.

[vinyl anachronist]

I gotta stick to $300. The rules of the game. However, if I went with the Ortofon OM-40 I'd be breaking the rules anyway . . .

It's such a small amount monetarily, but such a big amount in sound quality. You only live once.

[analogmaniac]

I've never heard of a 10x5 owner that didn't completely love that cartridge. :thumbsup:

I love my Dyna 10x5. A truly great cartridge.

[Plinko]

Can you use a low output MC with your phono stage? If so, you probably should get the Denon 103R from Herr Thakker on ebay for $300.

[Tubeman]

I love my Dyna 10x5. A truly great cartridge. Surpasses some $600+ carts I've had in the past. Yes, I would decrease in any other area to increase those few dollars to get the D10x5.

[MMM]

I've heard the Denon 103 for a bit. Pretty nice cartridge. Worth considering.

I don't recommend the Grado (even though I once did) - mistracking, too colored, etc.

[Tubeman]

...... I am thinking that I should maybe wait with one of those until I get a better deck.:righton:

[AudioEnz]

I am thinking that I should maybe wait with one of those until I get a better deck.

Your thinking is correct!

[TONEPUB]

We just got the new ARGO and it is quite good indeed! Very neutral and lots of inner detail. Not warm and romantic at all, but not harsh. For 1200 bucks it really gives you a peek at what the really expensive stuff sounds like.

Honestly, with no intent of insulting you, I wouldn't waste the money for now on the better cart with the lesser table for two reasons:

A: The table/arm is not going to have enough resolution to really allow the cartridge to perform optimally

B: The suspension in a cartridge is what really wears out, not the stylus. Hence if you just take the damn thing out of the box and never play it, after a few years, it will start sounding lousy, because the suspension parts (at least the flexible ones) will start degrading. Then if you move to a better table in two years, the cart will be going south...

As for the 300 cart, the new Shelter 201 isnt bad and that Dynavector is really great too.

Perhaps you can still lay hands on a V15 too....

[vinyl anachronist]

While we are on the topic of phono cartridges: would it be a bad idea to install a $1000 cartridge on a $500 LP player? I have a Pro-Ject RPM4 deck and it is currently equipped with a Sumiko Pearl cartridge, which I am not happy with. I was thinking about upgrading to the Grado Reference ($1200) or the Lyra Argo (also $1200), but I am thinking that I should maybe wait with one of those until I get a better deck.

I have to agree with everyone else here...spend as much money as you can on the table first, then the arm, then the cartridge. The 'table provides a foundation for everything else to perform well.

[Upstateaudio]

We just got the new ARGO and it is quite good indeed! Very neutral and lots of inner detail. Not warm and romantic at all, but not harsh. For 1200 bucks it really gives you a peek at what the really expensive stuff sounds like.

Honestly, with no intent of insulting you, I wouldn't waste the money for now on the better cart with the lesser table for two reasons:

A: The table/arm is not going to have enough resolution to really allow the cartridge to perform optimally

B: The suspension in a cartridge is what really wears out, not the stylus. Hence if you just take the damn thing out of the box and never play it, after a few years, it will start sounding lousy, because the suspension parts (at least the flexible ones) will start degrading. Then if you move to a better table in two years, the cart will be going south...

As for the 300 cart, the new Shelter 201 isnt bad and that Dynavector is really great too.

Perhaps you can still lay hands on a V15 too....

Hi Tonepub. What are the differences in sound between the Shelter 201 and the Dynavector?

[AudioEnz]

I appreciate all the advice. But ok, what if I upgrade the Pro-Ject 9 aluminium tonearm to the Pro-Ject 9c carbon tonearm and I upgrade the rubber feet to proper isolation feet, like the Greenwall O'Spikes, what then will be the most expensive cartridge I can use on my Pro-Ject RPM4 player?

The RPM4 is a fine turntable at its price, but that's all it is. If you want to spend more money on your vinyl front end then think of upgrading your turntable. That will make the bigger sound improvement.