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Best MC cart for Thorens TP16 MK1?

I'm sick of reading through so many different forums, my eyes are bugging out and I can't decide. So I'm just going to put it out there and see what y'all think. I've never had a moving coil cart before and I really want to install one on my Thorens TD-160 with original TP16 arm (16.5g) and stock TP60 headshell. I've gone through all the math around this, but now I need to hear from folks who are ACTUALLY running an MC cart on the same setup as mine (or have in the past), or at least heard such a setup.

I'm tempted by DL-103, but some feel it's too low in compliance for the arm, and I'd have to add weight most likely. Others that mathematically might fit the bill: Sumiko Blue Point No. 3, Hana EL, Benz Micro Gold, Ortofon Quintet Blue, and Audio Technica AT33PTG/2.

I'm willing to spend up to $700. What friggin MC cart would sing on this arm without fussing with weights? I can't seem to find a straight answer. I thank you all in advance.
hoytis

Showing 1 response by mapman

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mapman
21,823 posts
 
At a glance I suspect a Denon DL103R would sound very good for you.
I’ve used one for almost 15years now on my Linn Axis with Linn Basik tone arm. I had same concern about compliance initially when I did the math. But I decided to give it a go for nominal cost involved. It continues to deliver the goods every time no problem to this day. So I can strongly recommend the DL103r under the assumption that your tonearm is close enough to mine to get similar results from a cartridge compliance perspective.
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