The MP-150 and the MP-200 share cartridge types.
Not saying it’s the way to go unless you are trying to keep spending increments low, but I bought the 150 for about $347 and a year or so later, picked up the JN-P200 (MP-200 replacement stylus) for $169 from a eBay Nagaoka dealer in Japan.
The MP-200 cartridge can be had for around $450-$500... so yes I paid a little more, but not much.
Note that the MP-500 Stylus is not compatible with the MP-150 or 200 cartridge, so the incremental upgrading stops with the 200. The JN-P200 stylus is not compatible with the MP-110 cartidge either.
I liked the MP-150 a lot and did notice an obvious improvement with JN-P200 stylus on my (budget system in this neighborhood) system. Better detail in percussion, brushes, stringed instrument fingerings, etc. Bass tightened up slightly... a little less "boom" and better detail as well.
My (phono) system: Technics SL-1610, Pro-ject Tube Box S2 phono stage, Emotiva pre-amp, Morrow interconnects and ZuAudio Libtec speaker cables feeding Magnepan 1.6 speakers.
I enjoyed making and hearing improvements and now I have a 1 year old, spare MP-150 stylus in case I do the unthinkable and damage the somewhat more delicate boron cantelever on the JN-P200 stylus.
Not saying it’s the way to go unless you are trying to keep spending increments low, but I bought the 150 for about $347 and a year or so later, picked up the JN-P200 (MP-200 replacement stylus) for $169 from a eBay Nagaoka dealer in Japan.
The MP-200 cartridge can be had for around $450-$500... so yes I paid a little more, but not much.
Note that the MP-500 Stylus is not compatible with the MP-150 or 200 cartridge, so the incremental upgrading stops with the 200. The JN-P200 stylus is not compatible with the MP-110 cartidge either.
I liked the MP-150 a lot and did notice an obvious improvement with JN-P200 stylus on my (budget system in this neighborhood) system. Better detail in percussion, brushes, stringed instrument fingerings, etc. Bass tightened up slightly... a little less "boom" and better detail as well.
My (phono) system: Technics SL-1610, Pro-ject Tube Box S2 phono stage, Emotiva pre-amp, Morrow interconnects and ZuAudio Libtec speaker cables feeding Magnepan 1.6 speakers.
I enjoyed making and hearing improvements and now I have a 1 year old, spare MP-150 stylus in case I do the unthinkable and damage the somewhat more delicate boron cantelever on the JN-P200 stylus.