Best cartridge under $1500.


  • Current turntable: Yamaha GT2000.
  • Current cartridge: Ortofon Quintet Red.
  • Music likes: Rock, Jazz, Electronic, classical.
  • Desired sound: bold and tighter bass, rich midrange, crisp highs.
Need help Agoners...have been torn between buying Dynavector 17D3, Ortofon Quintet Black, Sumiko Blackbird. Any other better alternatives? 
Thanks!
128x128cohicks4
If i remember correct
Astatic MF 100 is Glanz MF71L
Astatic MF 200 is Glanz MF31L

visual difference is the size and shape of the aluminum cantilever. 

The best Astatic is MF2100 ?

The best Glanz is definitely MF61 with paroc stylus tip on boron cantilever. 


I have an astatic mf100 in mint condition with all original packaging  I was thinking about selling. It has less than 10 hours on it all put on by me. I bought it Nos sealed.  It was the top-of-the-line a static which I think was the same as the glanz ?

@chakster , The JVC MC1 box looks identical to X-1,mk2.

I will need your address to post ''the exotic one'' but expect

you to pay the postage (grin).

London Super Gold. Simply amazing. Pros: You are there. No. They are in your room.
Cons: Surface noise on damaged vinyl.

@nandric oh, nice, especially if you have original box :)
Your Glanz is working, thanks!  

Dear chakster, Remember my Glanz? I also own the JVC MC1

but the silicium plate with etched coils (near the stylus ) touches

the magnet gape on one side. Axel was, alas, not able to fix

the problem. If you can find someone who can you can get the

cart for free.

Lyra Delos. Brand new may be over $1500 but a second hand in good condition can be found under that amount. This cartridge does lot more than its price.
@leonardcooper 

You can buy a used Grace F9 body from a guy on Ebay. He stands behind what he ships so there are no worries that you will get a quality cart. Then buy the SoundSmith Ruby OCL F9 stylus replacement. You will have a wonderful, fast, detailed cart for about $1200. It'll blow away the 2M Black.

For about $1200 it's better to buy NOS stock Grace F-14 with original Grace BR/MR (Boron Cantilever, Micro Ridge stylus). The F14 is way superior to the F9, especially if the generator is LC-OFC. Remember that GRACE is a High Compliance cartridge in its original form, the SoundSmith is not a high compliance at all. But what is definitely superior to the SoundSmith Ruby is the genuine Grace hollow pipe Boron Cantilever with Nude Micro Ridge Stylus tip with very low mass. And if it's too expensive, then genuine Beryllium cantilever from Grace is also amazing. I have them all. One of my favorite Grace is LEVEL II (gold/black color), but the sellers often fooling people offering F8 cartridges and F8 stily under LEVEL II name. Grace LEVEL II styli (plastic holders) are not rounded shape and the Grace LEVEL II cartridge body is GOLD. It will be very hard to find any MM cartridge better than F-14 LC-OFC or LEVEL II with genuine styli. Actually the second generation of the most advanced Grace styli are not rounded shape (i mean plastic holder) as their first  generation of f8 and f9. My advice is to search for fully original F14 LC-OFC and LEVEL II BR/MR if the budget is up to $1200. 

You don't nee the Grace generator to enjoy the SoundSmith cantilever/tip, because he's got his own MI cartridges for the same price and i'm pretty sure his cartridges are very good! 

If someone would like to buy and send my broken AT-ML170 to SoundSmith for refurbishing it must be a better generator than Grace F9. The original AT-ML170 is mid compliance cartridge.  
+1 on the Decca London Super Gold Moving Iron cartridge.

It does exactly what you’re looking for.
I have an original grace and I agree with that statement.  They do sound great.
You can buy a used Grace F9 body from a guy on Ebay. He stands behind what he ships so there are no worries that you will get a quality cart. Then buy the SoundSmith Ruby OCL F9 stylus replacement. You will have a wonderful, fast, detailed cart for about $1200. It'll blow away the 2M Black.
One more vote for Audio Technica’s ART9! It is an Air Tight PC-Supreme on steroids! And you DO need diapers when you listen to it for the first time! PLUS - it does not collaps every other record, like the Supreme does. I had my Supreme repaired/replaced FOUR times before I finally returned it for refund ...
Thanks for all your inputs, I pushed the button on the Dyno 17D3, found one used with only 20 hrs on it, too cheap at $800 to pass up with all the good reviews. I have the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC, the AT ART9 and the Ortofon Cadenza Blue, in que for my next purchases.
Thanks again!
For many years i've been looking for JVC Direct Coupled MC cartridges to find one in working condition. I ended up with Victor MC-1 (Beryllium Cantilever, Shibata Stylus). Designed of the ART-1000 were inspired by JVC Victor direct coupled MC cartridges from the 70s/80s. 

This is uniqie design, printed micro coil located on top of the cantilever, very close to the stylus, check this image.  

see what J. Carr posted on audiogon about this design: 

The MC-1 places its signal coils way out on the business end of the cantilever, only a millimeter or so away from the stylus. Since the coil position bypasses most of the cantilever's length, the MC-1 is a good performer with excellent dynamics and immediacy. But in return it is tricky to set up (body clearance is minimal and stylus visibility poor), and the 0.2mV output and moderately high self-impedance will pose a challenge for many phono stages.

When the stylus wears out, or if the MC-1 breaks, it may or may not be repairable. The signal coils are micro-circuit boards and delicate in construction (so are the lead-out wires, which run up the length of the cantilever), and their proximity to the stylus leaves them comparatively unprotected. Also, the magnetic circuit's nearness to the LP surface tends to suck up dirt, which over time can clog up the magnetic gap that the signal coils move in. Finally, the close proximity of signal coils to stylus may turn out to be a headache for retippers.

With all that said and done, if you own a low-noise high-gain phono stage and relish the thought of listening to something exotic and rare (I'd be surprised if there are many functioning MC-1s left, even in Japan), go for it.

Enjoy what life brings your way!

kind regards, jonathan


cohicks4: FWIW, I recently reviewed three cartridges here:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/3-cartridges-reviewed?highlight=3%2Bcartridges%2Breviewed

Though more money, I felt the ART 9 and MIMC Star were significantly better than the Quintet Black. I ended up going with the MIMC Star and have been using it now for a few months--it is a very nice cartridge that, in my system, checks all your boxes--particularly with regard to "rich midrange" which I find very fleshed out and vibrant. I felt the high frequency response of the ART 9 was a little more refined than the MIMC Star but the Soundsmith had richer, tighter bass. Both are EXCELLENT for the money and what you will hear is obviously going to be system dependent. Be advised that the MIMC Star is pretty low compliance and the ART 9 is pretty high so chose carefully based on the mass of your arm.
Love the 17D3, don't think you can get a more accurate cart on the market. Fussy with setup is the only downside.
bump it up a little and go for the ortofon cadenza blue.  bold dynamics, a real punchy rocker that sounds great on all genres. shreds the 2m black and sounds better than the art9.  
Nagaoka MP 500
Ortofon 2M Black
Grado Reference Sonata 2

Have all three and like them all depending on my listening mood. The most expensive of these is the Ortofon last I saw was still under $800.
@cohicks4 it’s a popular question, but nobody knows your preferences in sound in your own system etc. There is always an alternative to what we have and that’s why we’re always lookign for cartridges. You have to listen to them to make your own conclusion. My advise is to expand your list much wider by adding great cartridges from the 80s, in my experience they are better and more affordable, you can find many great MM carts approved by audiogon members in Raul’s thread, it will take too much time to read, but it’s worth it. I can summarize with my favorites: Stanton CS100 WOS, AT-ML170, AT-ML180, Grace F14 LC-OFC, Grace F-14 Exellent, Grace Level II BR/MR, Glanz MFG-61,Pioneer PC-1000 MKII, Grado Signature XTZ. They are giant killers in my opinion (i’ve tried many to exclude from the best list). All of them under $1500, some of them are under $800.

I’m working on my favorite MC carts, but i’m not ready to post all of them yet, but they are all from the same era. I was a bit disappointed with 3-4k modern MC when i tried them.