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Cartridge forgiving of "non-audiophile" recordings and pressings

I’m a record collector first, and I have stacks of vinyl of many genres that would never qualify as audiophile quality, either in terms of recording, pressing, or both. Note that this isn’t a problem of vinyl condition. We’re talking VG+ at worst.

I find that the various fine line styli are too fussy and revealing with these records. Nude elliptical have proven to be a better match here, a good compromise.

Anyway, I’m looking to explore some new carts in a second system and wanted some recommendations. I know it all comes down to subjective listening, but I like to hear about what others have experienced as a guide to exploring.

I want a forgiving cartridge but with good dynamics and a fast transient response. Quick, full, tuneful bass and rich mids are the priority over treble extension and detail.

For now, ignore tonearm effective mass, turntable, etc. Budget up to $1,000. MM or MC.

Thanks all.

128x128funthings
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
With a Conical tip on vintage vinyl you’re continuing to wear off same part of the groove walls that already worn out by previous user of your vintage records (an average listener with average equipment aka a conical bonded stylus on those cheap carts).

What you can do is to reach previously untouched part of the groove walls using advanced profile, very simple, isn’t it? That’s the basics and I’m wondering people still have no clue about it.

Never use conical stylus for vintage vinyl if you want them to sound the best.



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plastico's avatar
plastico
13 posts
 
I have found that my AT ART 9 does what the  OP is looking for. I have tried a few throughout the years and this cart is probably my last. 
Cheers, Doug 
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,871 posts
 
I disagree that the better the rig, the better the sound on poorly recorded/pressed albums. IME, the better the rig, the worse the sound, simply because all of the warts and poor quality is now brought to the fore! This is unfortunately easy to hear when you place the typical Rock LP under the lens. Personally, it is not so easy to enjoy the music when it is clearly too bright, has vague imaging, poor resolution or any number of other issues that were common to the type of LP's the OP is talking about. OTOH, if one has a less resolving system, IME, these problems tend to be glossed over and the basic music is actually easier to listen to. IMHO, YMMV etc.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,895 posts
 
You can only get worse sound from "better" gear if you're listening to a recording that's literally more signal than noise, or if your system is imbalanced/mismatched in some way to e.g. cause excessive brightness/fatigue with less than stellar recordings. You pair a slightly bright, highly detailed setup with a bright pop/rock/metal recording and you are gonna have PAIN.

I've experienced the Ortofon shibata (boron/sapphire) implementation to not be my favorite (Jubilee MC in my case); it could certainly be interpreted as somewhat "ruthless", and I think requires matching to a warm downstream chain. Really all the boron Ortofons I've heard are something like that. So I upgraded to Koetsu and got both more detail AND a cartridge that works a lot better with mediocre recordings in combination with my downstream gear.

Cartridges in my experience that are good with most recordings, including rock/metal, and not too bright:
Benz LPS, Benz Wood
Koetsu (all models)
Ortofon Cadenza Bronze (not the higher models)
Shelter 
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