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Need help with phono cartridge selection

Hello all,

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am finally getting around to upgrading my phono cartridge and looking for some advice. I mostly listen to rock and jazz using the following setup:

Receiver - denon AVR 4306
Speakers - Polk audio 
Record player - Pioneer PL-630 with medium mass arm.

With all the reading I have done I am in information overload and not sure which direction to go. Current budget is roughly 500 or less. 

Current cartridge considerations:
Denon dl-110
Ortofon om20
Ortofon 2m Bronze
Nagaoka mp-200 or the 150
AT ML540ML
AT VM95E or ML
Hana EH
I am open to other suggestions as well 

Again, I am new at this so I appreciate your patience and your help. 

Theo.

theo71

Showing 1 response by elliottbnewcombjr

elliottbnewcombjr
5,249 posts
 

I like Audio Technica Cartridges, the sound, and several have very good channel separation and tight channel balance: combined they give excellent imaging.

 

I like the AT540ml for beginners, in your case, within your budget, I would move up their line to the VM750SH with Shibata Stylus

30 db channel separation, 1.0 db channel balance

soundsmith stylus shapes article

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cartridge alignment?

do you or a friend have the few inexpensive tools and experience to mount and align a cartridge? any advanced stylus shape that will definitely give better performance requires careful setup.

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