Another phono cartridge question

Raul: I don't believe the Clearaudio carts. have user replaceble styli, do they? I have a Virtuoso, which I dearly love [have also read your review of this] but the cartridge must be sent in for stylus replacement. Correct me if I am missinformed; thanks.

I should have mentioned there is also the venerable Shure M97xe, which is very forgiving to the ear, but for the money I liked the Ortofon Red more.
Also, as suggested above, Audio Technica makes nice catridges with removable styli.

Let us know what you decided on.

top of the line Nagaoka MP 500 sounds sweat and detailed.
top of the line Audio Technica 150 MLX sounds crisp and clear.
top of the line Goldring 1042 is an excellent all rounder.

you could also throw in a JICO SAS stylus in a MM generator (vintage or new, i suggest the Shure V 15 III) and get a second to none MM cartridge

If you can afford it Soundsmiths strain gauge cart system is an excellent choice (at 10 times the money of top MM's)

I forgot, you could want to take a look to Nagaoka cartridges too.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

My pick would be the Audio Technica AT150MLX. I just listened to mine last night for several hours on a fully tricked out Rega P25 and it amazes me every time I hear it.

Dear Boofer: Other than Ortofon you can look for Clearaudio, Goldring, Roksan, Audio Technica, etc, etc.

All those manufacturers have very good cartridges.

The best one? depends on many issues as: how good is your audio system? how good was/is the cartridge set up? which are your music sound targets/priorities? , etc.

With the top of the line cartridge on any of those manufacturers you can't go wrong.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Without any doubt, I would recommend the Soundsmith Strain Gauge. It is absolutely a reference cartridge that fits your criteria.

Best Regards,

Jonathan Tinn
Soundsmith Dealer

I don't know about "best" but one of the finer carts that has a removable stylus is the Ortofon 2M Black. In fact that whole 2M line is remarkable. I have Red and a Black and the Red, though not the same sonic picture as the Black, makes great music.