Cartridge recomendation for Garard 301 and Ikeda IT-345CRI

I’ve been accumulating MC’s over the past 4 or 5 years now and the Denon DL 103r has by far been the worst I’ve tried and I quickly sold it again. There’s a religious fanclub out there, but as far as I’m concerned the only thing going for it is the cheap price. These fans will say such criticism is unjust and that you’ll need a very high mass arm to make it ’shine’. Your Ikeda is the very ’model’ of such an arm, so you can judge for yourself. Perhaps the various upgraded versions on the market are better, but you know what they say about polishing a turd.....

You won’t believe how much better you can do within your budget and you don’t even have to spend it all! There are many options, some great ones already mentioned here, but you should also include the Phasemation PP-300 (or its predecessor the P-3G). This is a great match with your Ikeda arm and can be found for less than $1500.

Just take a look at hifishark: several Japanese dealers offer a brand new PP-300 for around $1100. At that price you won't find a superior cartridge. Unless of course you dare to go used, but that's a whole different ballgame.

The SPU is an old school design - dating back to the 1950's - but over the years many innovations that Ortofon introduced in more modern designs have been incorporated in certain SPU types. As a result these have a more modern sound, but also cost more.

Your preferred 'big and bold' presentation actually fits the SPU as a species pretty well, but the basic models are also rather crude, especially the ones with a conical tip. These have an almost religious following - not unlike the Denon DL-103 - but if you value audiophile capabilities like full frequency extension and reproduction of micro details and spacial information, these are very limited devices.

The 'higher end' SPU's - in some way a contradiction in terms - attempt to bring these typical audiophile aspects into the SPU design, while remaining true to its origin. The Replicant 100 tip (a variation on the Gyger tip) is capable of more detail retrieval than a standard elliptical stylus, let alone a conical one. This is why the SPU Royal and the earlier Gold Reference sound far more modern that other SPU's. The later SPU A90 and A95 Anniversary models have incorporated some innovations like SLM for lower resonance and less coloration. They also have a more modern sound, even while retaining a regular elliptical stylus.

@lokie what is your definition of ’polite’?

I installed the P-3G on my FR-64S to refresh my memory of its sonic presentation. ’Big and bold is good’ you say. Well, that is actually a pretty good description of the P-3G sound. Also, it has a very low noise floor, almost CD like. Without the (surface) noise, the music leaps out of the silence. The resulting dynamic ’jump’ makes for a big and bold presentation. Bass is deep, strong and tight. Mids are present and slightly forward. Highs do not stick out, but are not rolled off either. Does this sound ’polite’ to you?

I’m a big fan of the SPU sound as well. They have a recognizable ’family’ sound, but with interesting variations within that ’theme’. In fact the Phasemation shares some of their characteristics (remember ’big and bold’). The Royal is one of the more detailed as a result of the advanced tip, same as the SPU Gold Reference. The Anniversary models are very special but no longer available new, although some dealers still have some stock of the A95 (usually costing > $2k).

The Ikeda cantileverless designs are one-of-a-kind and capable of doing stuff no other mc cartridge can accomplish in terms of speed and dynamic punch. But I would advise against choosing it as your one-and-only cartridge for everyday use.

Why? Well, due to its design it simply cannot cope with even slightly warped discs that normal cartridges with a cantilever (even with very low compliance) can track with ease. So it is more a cartridge for special occasions.