First Moving Coil (MC) Cartridge Acquisition


I have been listening to MM carts my whole life. I am interested in dipping my toes into the MC stream to see what sonic improvements can be had. I am looking for recommendations in the $1K range. Currently, I am running an Ortofon 2M Black and Shure JICO MM. Turntable is a Merrill Super 12 Polytable, Jelco 750 tonearm, into a Herron VTPH-2A phono stage and Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum 2 integrated.

I would appreciate any recommendations. I am entertaining Hana MC carts or something with .5mV or higher as I don’t want to get a SUT. Please provide any feedback on the Hana that A’goners have employed.
arturos73

Showing 2 responses by chakster

No one can tell you which flavor you will like in your system, there are so many cartridges on the market and they are different. People who enjoyed ART-9 on this forum, and raved about for a long time, sold them and bought something else, just like with many cartridges. Do not expect a universal answer. Vintage LOMC cartridges are much cheaper even with the most exotic cantilevers just like Dynavector KARAT diamond series that you can probably find NOS (never used) under $1k (i paid less than $500 for one of them NOS and it was amazing deal on ebay).  

A lot of people on here buying NEW grey market products without warranty, they don't care just because the price is $200 lower. The more important is not OLD or NEW, but who is the seller or dealer and how they can support a buyer when there is something wrong (in the worst scenario). If you or your cleaning lady will destroy a cartridge it doesn't matter was it New or Vintage, they will be destroyed anyway. 

If you're looking for a sound quality then it's up to you which cartridge is better, there are many vintage cartridges that can be 3 times cheaper and 2 times better than anything new.  
If the budget is under $1k then you can look for a NOS Dynavector KARAT series with Ruby or Diamond cantilevers.

KARAT 23RS MR or KARAT 17DS.