MM cartridges

+1 for the AT-150 MLX.

IMHO it performs well on everything.

AT-150MLX all the way. But, don't count out Goldring, Ortofon, and Nagaoka.

Gentlemen: Thank you for all your responses. I will consider all the advice. 20 years ago I dumped all my analog gear. Actually gave away a Decca Garrott, Garrott P77, Signet TK7-SU, Signet TK-9E and a AKG P-100LE for free to a young audiophile who used Analog. The one I have is a Rega Exact which should mate well the the Audiomods arm. Always liked those AT carts. But the Decca Garrott was "the one".

I'm listening to a Signet TK100LC right now. Incredible cartridge. Consider returning to MM with a vintage/new production hybrid-- an ebayed Grace F9 body with a Soundsmith turnkey OCL Ruby stylus assembly. Gets close to TOTL MM for around $600 in all.

A point to keep in mind in connection with both the AT-150MLX and the Aida is that their recommended load capacitance is 100 to 200 pf. That is low enough to be problematical with some combinations of phono stages and phono cables, especially if the phono cable needs to be longish. I recall at least one of our particularly experienced members here reporting that going from 250 pf to 150 pf or thereabouts made a considerable difference for the better with his 150MLX.

Also, in my experience a Grace F9E rebuilt by Soundsmith with his $250 "ruby single crystal cantilever/nude contact line diamond" option handily outperformed the original version of the Grado Reference Sonata.

Finally, be aware that the Grados will hum in some turntables, due to the lack of shielding in their wooden bodies.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al