I know some of the real hard core a-philes sniff at it, but I had a Shure M97xe on a 707/Thorens TD-160 Super and I thought it sounded a heck of a lot better than it should have for an $89 cartridge. I understand - sort of - that as a low mass arm it mates well with a high compliance cartridge, so MM might be a better way to go.
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Hi Rob, An ADC MKII Improved is a pretty good moving iron cartridge from the old days. An ADC Astrion would be even better with its crystal cantilever, but very scarce. Even better would be the ever-elusive ADC TRX Series, with the TRX3 being the rarest, but best. The Sonus is also nice, but the quality was always spotty. You could get a good, or bad, one. Sometimes, you win; sometimes, you lose. That's the way it is with Sonus. Some of the Signets aren't bad. The 5.0 line contact model is rather nice for a moving magnet. Of course, one not to forget is the Grace F9. // Win |
How about an Ortofon OM40 or new 2M Bronze or Black? They're all in the 22-25 compliance range. The OM series is much lighter and easier to match, at least theoretically. Also, how about Cartridge Man MusicMaker? Recommended for medium-to-low mass arms of 13g eff. mass or less. |
Dear Rob: +++++ " The Shure M97xe is a possiblity.....Ideally I'd like to find a V15. " +++++ IMHO the M97xe is a " surprising " good performer and in many ways better than the V15.VMR that's overpriced and not worth about. The Sonus Gold Blue is a better choice ( you can find it on ebay for no more than 170.00 ) and through what I experienced with three different Sonus cartridge ( including the Dimension 5 ) it is a reliable cartridge. The ADC ones are very good too specially the Astrion ( hard to find ) but you could find the XLM III or XLM II improved that works fine. Now if you want something great then you could go for the original ( NOS or second hand ) MMC2 B&O cartridge, you could find it through the web. As a fact there are plenty of very good MM cartridges, the Ortofon OM40 super is another one even the Sumiko Pearl. Regards and enjoy the music. Raul. |