Was your first cartridge relatively expensive?


I'm thinking seriously about buying my first analog rig. I've never set up a turntable system before and obviously my biggest fear is breaking/damaging the cartridge.

So I've got some questions for you guys. Was your first cartridge relatively expensive? In hindsight would you have bought a cheaper one to "learn" with? Would you recommend a newbie who is sure he likes the sound of vinyl and will stick to it, to start with the best cartridge he can afford?
howie

Showing 2 responses by dazzdax

The Denon DL-103 is a very fairly priced cartridge. It is also capable of giving very satisfactory sonic results. But it is not a beginners cartridge, because it can sound good only with heavy and very heavy arms. These arms are not so common nowadays, so you'll have to get a used one (not cheap) or to pay a higher price for a new one.
Gadfly: to be fair I'm not sure whether analog is better than digital. These are two different modalities so comparing them is like comparing apples with pears. I think both have their strengths and weaknesses. It is also not very logical to strive for an "analog like sound" in digital or an "digital like sound" in analog. But this discussion belongs to another section (of the forum).