Suggestions for a good MM cart

atharva

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Hi

I've been with a DL-103R for a while now. Never heard a good MM cart and would like to give it a try. Budget between $200-$500 that offers the best bang for the buck. I'm using the HQMCPS phono and can easily switch to the CNC.

The arm is Audiomods (medium mass) and can handle a variety of carts. Music is mostly Indian/Western Classical, Jazz, Hindi movies, Rock, Pop etc. Vinyls are VG+/NM with some mint remasters and new pressings.

Considering the following in no particular order.

1. AT150MLX - Microline - $325
2. AT150SA - Shibata - $272
3. AT440MLA/B - nude square micro-linear $295/$199
4. Ortofon Blue/Bronze - Fine Line $209/$369
5. Grado Reference Platinum 1 - Special Elliptical - $350
6. Clearaudio Concept v2/Performer v2/Artist v2 - $250/$399/$499

Will the Microline/Shibata/Fine Line be unforgiving on the old VG+ vinyls?

Also read good things about the MC carts ATOC9 MLII / ATOC9 III. Would these be a good step above the DL103 and much better than any of the MM?

Any other carts? Thanks for reading!
 
have heard the 150mlx & 440mla at's you've stated. they are very demanding on quality of vinyls and will bring out all the surface noise present.

clear audio also has similar characteristics but slightly more forgiving than the at's.

not heard grado model you've stated so can't comment on that.

ortofon blue is best suited to your requirements from this list.
 
Hi

I've been with a DL-103R for a while now. Never heard a good MM cart and would like to give it a try. Budget between $200-$500 that offers the best bang for the buck. I'm using the HQMCPS phono and can easily switch to the CNC.

The arm is Audiomods (medium mass) and can handle a variety of carts. Music is mostly Indian/Western Classical, Jazz, Hindi movies, Rock, Pop etc. Vinyls are VG+/NM with some mint remasters and new pressings.

Considering the following in no particular order.

1. AT150MLX - Microline - $325
2. AT150SA - Shibata - $272
3. AT440MLA/B - nude square micro-linear $295/$199
4. Ortofon Blue/Bronze - Fine Line $209/$369
5. Grado Reference Platinum 1 - Special Elliptical - $350
6. Clearaudio Concept v2/Performer v2/Artist v2 - $250/$399/$499

Will the Microline/Shibata/Fine Line be unforgiving on the old VG+ vinyls?

Also read good things about the MC carts ATOC9 MLII / ATOC9 III. Would these be a good step above the DL103 and much better than any of the MM?

Any other carts? Thanks for reading!

Nagaokas have a decent reputation as well
 
Try the AT33EV, which can be got for. $475 from LP gear.com. It's the one I use, sounds superb, and it might well trump all on your list. There are many reviews out there which you could check out.
 
amongst all these suggestions, have you checked with tone arm maker which carts he recomends???
 
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/who-needs-a-mm-cartridge-type-when-we-have-mc

Check above thread out. if I were to get into a mm cartridge this is the thread I would refer

I spent months slowly reading through the thread suggested by Prem. Curiously, earlier too someone had pointed me to this thread but at that point my mind was occupied by MCs.

Since I was playing catch up on a thread that started around 2009 (and still active), I made notes along the way. On the basis of the recommendations on that thread, I bought a N.O.S. Astatic MF200. On the Audiogon thread this cartridge is rated a 10++. So far it has played only 20 record sides and the sound is improving. I'll further optimize arm setup and VTA and play around some more with resistive and capacitive loadings after playing about 40 LP sides. FWIW, it has a parabolic Shibata stylus. It digs deep in the groove, literally and figuratively. I also took a chance on a couple more vintage N.O.S. cartridges. Hopefully Customs would release them soon.
 
Hi,

Having just switched from MM (Ortofon/Grado) to MC (103R), I would add my vote to the Nagoakas.
But, the more I listen to the 103R, the more I feel this is almost as good as it gets in the 500$ bracket. Can I ask what you feel is missing and why do you want to switch to an MM in this range?
 
Hi,

Having just switched from MM (Ortofon/Grado) to MC (103R), I would add my vote to the Nagoakas.
But, the more I listen to the 103R, the more I feel this is almost as good as it gets in the 500$ bracket. Can I ask what you feel is missing and why do you want to switch to an MM in this range?

The Audiogon thread I mentioned is about rediscovering the best moving magnet, moving iron, moving flux (basically any non MC) from the golden age of analog and comparing them the top MCs that we're currently popular then. Some of these MCs were Lyra Olympos, Allaerts Formula One, Ortofon A90, Koetsu Coral, and Dynavector XV-1s. I think these cartridges were top of the line from their respective manufacturers at the time of comparison.

Many of the MM/MI/IM/MF cartridges tested (100+) easily surpassed the above mentioned MC cartridges.

To answer your query, it's not about missing something. I have been continuously using MC (good old Denon DL 103) on one TT and on a second TT rotating amongst MI, HOMC and MM cartridges. Some of these are better than the others but all of them give different, enjoyable flavours to music.

I was curious to discover for myself how some of the cartridges that made lots of noise on the thread, perform in my setup. Alas, all the cartridges mentioned are vintage and out of production (outside of Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood which is rated very, very highly). So I started hunting for new old stock pieces and bought a few. They were reasonably priced and much cheaper than sending three MCs that are in need of retip.

But there's a big caveat one must be aware of: some of the top performing cartridges especially from Technics like the EPC 100x and EPC 205x lines, or some of the AKG cartridges were known to sometimes have catastrophic suspension failures which no rebuilder could repair.
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
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