Help with Selecting a good Phono Cartridge! Under 500.00 Please

tommyjonBois

tommyjonBois

On the lookout always
I just happened to score a beautiful Technics SL-1200 but it does not have a cartridge. I would like to get a really nice Cartridge for this that sounds excellent but not looking for anything extremely expensive.

What is the best value on a Good Cartridge for under say...500 dollars? The best value for the dollar for good sound? Please anyone help. I actually searched this topic and found nothing. I don't want an entry level cartridge but something that is a great bang for the buck under 500.00......Thank You, Tom
 
Basically it is a difference in presentation. So you have to decide what you like. The Acutex with it's "Shibata" style stylus is reminiscent of the Stanton/Pickering sound which is neutral. The AT's to my ears are more forward in presentation and need to be loaded down from 47k to the mid-30's in resistance. They are also very particular about the capacitance of your TT wiring and phono stages native capacitance. The like around 250pf total. I have in house about a half dozen AT's and they are just not my style. Other than the capacitance and your preferences, the important factors would be your downstream equipment and it's voicing.
 
I own a Technics SL-1200MK5 and one of my favorite cartridges is the Ortofon Concorde with 30 stylus. Excellent for stereo LP playback and within your stated budget.
 

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escobaria said:
I own a Technics SL-1200MK5 and one of my favorite cartridges is the Ortofon Concorde with 30 stylus. Excellent for stereo LP playback and within your stated budget.
Click to expand...

Of all the 1200s I have heard, this was a real winner. I do not own a 1200.
 
The absolute best option within your budget is the Nagaoka MP-500, but only if you buy it here:

http://www.audiokazu.com/

I have absolutely no affiliation with that site. The owner is a forumite from Japan that sells Nagaoka products at half the price you can find them at a website like Needle Doctor. Again, I have no affiliation and I'm just a satisfied and happy customer, since I've just received my MP-500 and I can tell I'm in sound heaven right now. Check this video I recorded and uploaded to YouTube a few hours ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mNfkog4OmU&hd=1
 
Another option is a Denon 301mk2 - which is what I have currently on my 1210... It sounds excellent but is a low output moving coil which means you will need either a decent phono stage with MC function to use or a step up transformer that can be found relatively cheaply. Nicely detailed, great highs but with plenty of bottom end, its said to be pretty neutral and I like it. Sure beats the crap out of other cheaper cartridges I have heard including shure which I personally found to sound veiled and not particularly detailed.
It is also a great match for the technics stock arm.

Have also heard great things about the AT150MLX and the Nagoaka 500... If you can get those for a good price you will be in excellent shape.
 
I'd save some money by getting a Shure M97 and a Jico SAS stylus. Under $300, spend the other $200 on some new vinyl.
 
Grado Platinum for that warm enveloping sound that puts a smile on your face every time you drop the needle.

sl1200_platinum.jpg
 
Well without a mention of the other parts of the system, its hard to make a comprehensive list. First you have to decide if you want to go MM or MC...and lets not forget MI. If you are open to MC, then we need to know if you can support a low output moving coil, or if it needs to be a high output model.

Perhaps one of the best bang for the buck cartridges on the market these days is a LOMC from Audio Technica, the OC 9 II. Which LP Gear sells for in the low $300's. I also tend to agree that the Denon 301 MK II is a great cartridge, and perhaps you can find a 304 Mk II from an on line seller in that price range. But these are all low output, and you will need a step up transformer if your phono stage does not have LOMC capability.

Now if you want to go high output moving coil, then the Dynavector 10 X 5 is a good choice, as is the Sumiko BPS EVO. Both will be shy of $500, but not by much. I believe Ortofon also has a HOMC cartridge that Needle Doctor has on special for the $300 range.

If I were spending this kind of money, I would take the AT OC 9 II, and use the extra funds to buy a record cleaning machine like the Audio Advisor Record Doctor, or the one that KAB sells. Clean vinyl is really a nice option to have, and the basic vacuum record machines tend to be the most effective and reasonably priced options. I would also consider getting a couple of the KAB upgrades for the 1200, like the tone arm rewire service, and perhaps the fluid damper.

Congratulations on your new table, and best of luck getting it tuned in just like you want! Also two thumbs up dude for being willing to spend the money on a quality cartridge, and doing things right.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
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As Mr. Pig says above knowing the rest of your equipment would help with recommendations. But if I were to narrow it down there are two considerations when buying a new cart. Compliance matching with the tonearm and what kind of music you like to listen to. Some of the recommendation given to you are not a good match for your arm. The AT-150Ml being one of them. The Nagoaka MP-150 or MP-200 would be a good match for your arm as long as they coincide with the type of music you listen to....
 
tommyjonBois said:
I just happened to score a beautiful Technics SL-1200 but it does not have a cartridge. I would like to get a really nice Cartridge for this that sounds excellent but not looking for anything extremely expensive.

What is the best value on a Good Cartridge for under say...500 dollars? The best value for the dollar for good sound? Please anyone help. I actually searched this topic and found nothing. I don't want an entry level cartridge but something that is a great bang for the buck under 500.00......Thank You, Tom
Click to expand...

You will not go wrong with a Dynavector 10x5. I have one now, just bought it a few weeks ago. It will draw you into the music, we'll balanced, articulate, yet possessing warmth.

I can't say enough good things about it. Great from the start.

I had a Grado Gold with An upgraded 8MZ stylus beforehand. The Dyna blows it out of the water in very way...
 
Hail Vinyl! said:
The absolute best option within your budget is the Nagaoka MP-500, but only if you buy it here:

http://www.audiokazu.com/

I have absolutely no affiliation with that site. The owner is a forumite from Japan that sells Nagaoka products at half the price you can find them at a website like Needle Doctor. Again, I have no affiliation and I'm just a satisfied and happy customer, since I've just received my MP-500 and I can tell I'm in sound heaven right now. Check this video I recorded and uploaded to YouTube a few hours ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mNfkog4OmU&hd=1
Click to expand...

Nice comparison of sound samples for both. Sounds clean and seems to track very well.

Isn't that Fleetwood Mac album a reissue?
 
I'm currently struggling quite a bit between this option and an Audio-Technica 33 PTG II. That is a serious deal he is offering.

Hail Vinyl! said:
The absolute best option within your budget is the Nagaoka MP-500, but only if you buy it here:

http://www.audiokazu.com/

I have absolutely no affiliation with that site. The owner is a forumite from Japan that sells Nagaoka products at half the price you can find them at a website like Needle Doctor. Again, I have no affiliation and I'm just a satisfied and happy customer, since I've just received my MP-500 and I can tell I'm in sound heaven right now. Check this video I recorded and uploaded to YouTube a few hours ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mNfkog4OmU&hd=1
Click to expand...
 
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