Out of the box, the AT110E is good but I’m betting you are into records for the long haul so I would say the OM 5E is better for you. Can a less popular cartridge be better? Yeah.
In sound, both remind me of the old-world Shure Era IV M97-HE’s but the AT110E is biased toward the bright and it sounds a bit thinner. The Ortofon is more balanced and has appreciably more separation making it sound more dynamic and, to me, in the long run, gives more because it does not have the sizzle. I favor the Ortofon’s for three reasons; they sound very good, they are bargains- as sleeper cartridges they fall below the radar of many, and being modular, they can be easily upgraded to make fantastic music cheaply, if you know the secret to mix and match.
For less money then the AT110E, you can turn the OM 5E into an OM 20-clone and you get bonus parts. The OM 5E has a stylus with a cheaper-to-make shank-diamond which sounds decent enough but the open-platform can do more. I’ve made a couple of $200 nude-elliptical cartridges for only $50 each or only $20 if you already have the cartridge. They sound excellent yet show that spending less money doesn’t mean a compromise in music.
A fleaBay seller has 500 NOS Digitrac 200 NE cartridges for $20 with free shipping. He is a regular and is selling the cartridges now. None of the Digitrac cartridges I bought worked but I didn’t care as I want the stylus. The extras, the screwdriver, the brush, and lots of parts to attach cartridges, are worth the price, but the star is the stylus. Each Digitrac cartridge holds the wonderful sounding OM 20 nude-elliptical stylus, in disguise. Combining the OM and the stylus, the music is like heaven calling- beautiful sounding, clean, open, very detailed, strong, tight, bass, and cheap. It’s looks homely but, man, it sure sounds sweet. Buy a couple of the cartridges and you might get lucky to get a cartridge that works. Everyone can afford this upgrade. Remember, the stylus is what you want to zero in on.
One caveat- out of the box, the 200 NE doesn’t work as a flimsy plastic tab gets in the way. Use fingernail clippers to cut it off, a simple 10 second operation.
If you decide to go the modular route, give the OM series a try and if you like a bargain, the upgrade is available. You won’t believe how good a lowly cartridge can sound plus you’ll have a couple of extra styluses, extra parts and tools, in reserve.
Or you can get the AT110E.