Hi, I'm by no means a vinyl expert here but... I mentioned to my local high-end shop a few years ago that I have an old '80s-era turntable and he recommended the inexpensive MM Grado. I bought the Grado prestige "black" P-mount cartridge for less than $50 and am very happy with it. I have it set at 1.5 grams tracking on my Technics SL-5 direct-drive linear-tracking table from 1982 and it sounds great. The sound is very smooth from top to bottom although a little darker sounding than my digital source (Arcam CD23), hardly a fair comparison, though. The Prestige series is also available in standard mount if your table requires it.
More refined sounding and smoother than the Audio Technica EP series cartridge it replaces. Very nice midrange and vocals. The "hum" problem apparently has been corrected with the newer (late '90's and newer) Prestige series according to one professional review I read online. I have experienced no hum in my system. A great-sounding cartridge and good value for money IMHO. -jz
More refined sounding and smoother than the Audio Technica EP series cartridge it replaces. Very nice midrange and vocals. The "hum" problem apparently has been corrected with the newer (late '90's and newer) Prestige series according to one professional review I read online. I have experienced no hum in my system. A great-sounding cartridge and good value for money IMHO. -jz