If you like Ortofon look for vintage Ortofon M20 FL Super and you will be on heaven! It’s a top quality cartridge with Fine Line stylus. Don’t buy modern MM cartridges - they are overpriced, low quality and easily beats by top vintage MMs from the 70s/80s (you can still find NOS). If you want to learn more about it simply read Raul’s thread here on audiogon. If you can find any from his list it will be a top performer for reasonable price.
Any vintage MM can be retiped/recantilevered and improved by Axel in Germany (he works fast and charge less than others like Soundsmith etc).
You don’t need MC cartridge to start with, proper modern MC will cost you $3000 (and each 1500 hrs it must be retipped), but proper MM will cost only $300 and you can change stylus. Vintage MC are cheaper, but worn out and the limit of enjoyable listening experience is probably 200 hrs (then must be retipped). Add step-up transformer or head amp to the cost of low output MC and the budged will jump up to crazy amount. Think about the rest of your system. Start with MM cartridge and save money for something else, you will not lose anything!
P.S. I would NEVER buy Denon 103, even Denon 107 MM is better. Both will be creamed by any MM/MI from Raul’s list, i’ve tried many of them and many others experienced agon members aproved them too.
Any vintage MM can be retiped/recantilevered and improved by Axel in Germany (he works fast and charge less than others like Soundsmith etc).
You don’t need MC cartridge to start with, proper modern MC will cost you $3000 (and each 1500 hrs it must be retipped), but proper MM will cost only $300 and you can change stylus. Vintage MC are cheaper, but worn out and the limit of enjoyable listening experience is probably 200 hrs (then must be retipped). Add step-up transformer or head amp to the cost of low output MC and the budged will jump up to crazy amount. Think about the rest of your system. Start with MM cartridge and save money for something else, you will not lose anything!
P.S. I would NEVER buy Denon 103, even Denon 107 MM is better. Both will be creamed by any MM/MI from Raul’s list, i’ve tried many of them and many others experienced agon members aproved them too.