Grado Blue vs. Shure M97xE


Anyone familiar with these two cartridges? I'm looking for something on the warm side, with full bass and midrange. My local cartridge outlet, the Needle Doctor, recommended these two as the best in the under $100 category. The Shure's $94, the Grado is $80. Any suggestions on which to pick?
michaelb

Showing 1 response by sdcampbell

I've heard both, and there are tradeoffs with both. Of the two, the Shure is probably a bit more neutral, and the Grado reveals a bit more detail. But these differences are going to be fairly subtle unless you own a very high resolution system (which seems unlikely, given the price range of these cartridges.) My strong recommendation is to spend some extra money and get a Shure V15xMR, which will compete well with all but the most expensive moving coils. The last time I checked with a company called "Garage-a-Records" (they have a Web site), they were selling the Shure V15xMR for about $225 (the MSRP is $375).