Best all-around cartridge for 500.00 new

Tom, i recently picked up a Denon that had never been used for $100. One of my buddies found it and a few other cartridges from a vinyl "addict" overseas and snagged it for me. He had used one previously and thought it was a phenomenal bargain for the money. As you mentioned though, it is a low output cartridge and does require more gain to perform optimally.

If you're looking for a high output MM type, try a Stanton 881S Mk II. It will smoke a Shure in terms of overall reproduction and musicality and costs measurably less. All the V15 type cartridges suffer from a non-linear distortion problem that an honest reviewer would mention ( some do ). The Stanton has a much shorter and more rigid cantilever. This results in faster tip speed, more detail due to a shorter path to the motor assembly and less distortion due to the cantilever not flexing. The frequency response is more neutral and there is less "grundge" in the upper mids and treble without sounding near as "closed in". The 881 will also track BETTER than the Shure on high amplitude passages with a lot of vertical deflection. A good source for the 881S Mk II is Kevin at KAB Electro-Acoustics. Sean
>

Maxgain, sorry if you took that personally. While i did specifically respond to several points that you commented on, i was simply trying make an alternative suggestion. As such, i made some direct comparisons between the Stanton and the Shure. Since the V15 series has always been somewhat of an "industry standard" and your comments seem to echo the general consensus amongst end users, i used them as a reference / comparison point.

The Shure V series cartridges have all been highly regarded even though they have some serious flaws in them. As such, i suggested the Stanton as i know that it is both a better performer ( in pretty much every aspect ) and is available for well under $200. It is an often overlooked gem amongst MM type cartridges.

For the record, i do have several different Shure's in my possesion, some of them dating back almost 30 years. Shure is less than an hour's drive away from me. The fact that i've found their customer service and lack of parts availability for specific models rather frustrating at times is completely besides the point.

As to the Pickering's, no, i don't think that they've ever "smoked" anything. They do bare a physical resemblance to some of the Stanton's, but that was about it.

As to the Denon, yes, they used to market a 103C and 103D back in the 1970's. They still make a model using the same number but i don't think it is a duplicate of either of the aforementioned models. Sean
>

PS... i know just enough to know that i don't know it all. I'm working on that though, so keep the info coming... : )

I agree wholeheartedly with the majority of your observations. I also shouldn't be "knocking" any comments regarding trying to help someone or promote the use of vinyl. For that i apologize.

Since many people are jumping back into vinyl with "cold feet", i was simply trying to provide them with an alternative viewpoint. My experience is that if someone can spend less money and get better overall results, they are all for it. This is not to say that the Stanton is the "end all" product, only that it is a very worthwhile contender for their cash. As everyone knows, there is always room to move in audio.

As you mentioned, the newer Shure is a big leap forward from their older cartriges and i think that most people that have heard it agree. The biggest difference seems to be in the upper registers. Improvements in air, space and overall "open-ness" are duly noted. They have basically "cleaned house" and you are left with a cleaner, less congested presentation.

As to the cantilever design, i think that this is what was hurting them in the past. Their last design made use of a thin walled telescoping design to minimize tip mass. As with any telescoped design, there is a certain amount of "play" between joints. While the basic idea was there, it obviously needed refining.

They were obviously trying to reduce tip mass but forgot about a few other factors. While low tip mass is a good thing, flexing of the cantilever is not. This tends to produce non-linear distortions and smearing of detail. This is the problem that i heard with the earlier Shure's. It became more obvious as dynamic range increased. This is due to greater vertical deflection of the cantilever which would have caused greater amounts of flexing. As such, the louder the recorded passage became, the greater the amount of distortion generated. If one played mostly "quiet" recordings without a lot of dynamic range ( chamber music, highly compressed recordings, etc...), you might not notice this.

I will give Shure credit in the fact that their older cartridges never sounded "offensive" ( bright and edgy ), made use of low surface noise tips and would work in a wide variety of arms. As such, they were always a "safe" albeit less than optimum choice.

The Stanton approach was much the opposite of Shure's. They chose a very rigid cantilever that may have been slightly heavier, but kept it short as possible. This not only reduced the overall weight, but kept it as rigid as possible. With the shortest path possible from tip to motor structure and flexing reduced to minimal, the result is a greater amount of detail being directly modulated from the groove with less distortion and a more linear output.

As with any cartridge though, you can play with loading characteristics to obtain the best results. The difference in tonearm wiring, interconnects, etc... all need to be addressed if you are going to make an attempt at "vinyl nirvana". Sean
>

Try contacting Clearaudio directly or call Bes at Music Direct. I had a brief conversation with him about these cartridges as i too was somewhat interested in them. From what he described them as sounding like ( nothing like the stereophile review and recommendation ), i decided to leave well enough alone.

Music Direct supposedly has a new "demo room" now with a small selection of the electronics that they carry set up. I'm going to have to stop by there sometime soon and see what's new and exciting. They are about a 1/2 hour drive from me, which is pretty convenient to say the least. Sean
>