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Recommend an MC alternative to Clearaudio Maestro

I currently have the Clearaudio Maestro Wood cart (V1) on a Clearaudio Satisfy Tonearm. I've always used MM carts and I'd like to finally give MC a shot. Are there any good MC carts at ~$1000 (or less) that are on par with the Maestro cart? Ideally I'd like to try something relatively inexpensive to start, but my concern is that comparing the Maestro to a cheap MC will be like comparing apples to oranges. Any thoughts?
rublyow
plato
1,543 posts
 
The Audio Technica AT33EV is quite good and not too expensive. And a lot of folks like the Denon DL103r. But they are very low output-- about 0.25mV so you'd likely need somewhere between 61 to 72dB of total gain from your phono stage.

A lot of folks load the AT33EV at around 100 ohms but I achieved a more natural treble balance loading it at 80 ohms.
rlowe
13 posts
 
Rublyow

I had exactly that cartridge(Maestro) on exactly the same arm(satisfy, ambient tt). After a cleaning accident(cantilever), I bought a shelter 501 mkII. I was very happy with the shelter for quite awhile. I think for the money the shelter is also a good option, although im not sure how much they run these days. I picked mine up for I think 900, but it was a few years ago now.
R
rublyow OP
1 posts
 
Rlowe - did you notice any specific difference between the Shelter and the Maestro? What cart are you using now?
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