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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 4 responses by noromance

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,537 posts
 

@crawfishdaddi +1 Nagaoka MP500 over a LOMC.

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,537 posts
 

You might consider a phono amplifier instead of the receiver's input. Try a Schiit Mani 2 into an aux input.

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,537 posts
 

What are you using currently? What type of sound do you like? The Goldring is a bit warm while the ATs are more neutral–maybe a little bright–but not harsh. I use a VM750SH as a spare or when not in the mood for my more dynamic and nuanced Deccas. It’s decent and does everything well. It will need 10-20 hours to settle in, being a little bit brittle and thin at first.

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,537 posts
 

You can't go wrong with the Audio Technica options.

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