High output MC cartridges

It makes no sense to replace MI with any HOMC, only if you want to downgrade with your cartridge sound quality. Even LOMC has much higher moving mass than any MI, but with HOMC everything is worst. Watch SoundSmith lecture, he will explain why (after 23:00 timeline)

Another MI or MM or at least LOMC

I think there is only one reason people buying HOMC cartridges, the reason is the phono stage that can’t handle LOMC.

But if they got a decent MM phono stage to handle MI then a decent SUT (or headamp) will help to handle some decent LOMC with the same phono stage.

Instead of any HOMC i would recommend to try some killer vintage MM or MI with superb cantilevers and best stylus profile.

Grado + Rega + Oracle = hum. I liked the Grado, minus the hum, but I liked my Grace F9 better.

My Grado is dead quiet just like any cartridge from my big collection of Grace. If you like F-9 then LC-OFC versions of the F14 and LEVEL II is the way to go.

So the reasons for a HOMC are several. One, MI on my system have hummed.

You know why?

Two, my tube pre-amp has a 47k Ohm RIAA phono stage, no go zone for LOMC’s.

Most LOMC are fine with 47k Ohm, all you need is much more gain

I had wonderful experience with various Dynavector cartridges including rare HOMC DV30A, but the most impressive were LOMC like 17DS and 23RS MR, now i have NOS 17D2 on the shelf

Am interested in your opinion as just to what you’d classify as killer MM, & the best NOS cantilevers and styli are?

Over the years many audiogon members discovered the best MM/MI cartridges, exact models provided by the contributors of this forum (including myself) who tried so many of them and even compared them to some very expensive modern MC cartridges (i did it too). The lucky ones purchased those MM when they were cheap and underrated (10-15 years ago). Most of those MM are from the mid 70s/80s. Most of us who joined a bit later paid our dues, those cartridges always goes up in price on used market because they are highly competitive with modern high-end carts (normally 5-10 times in price). I do not value all vintage MM/MI as high as some specific models, the Shure is definitely not in my list of the best carts, except maybe ULTRA series. I do not value high any cartridge that degrade in quality in time (especially the ones with weak suspension), some models are not good and we know why, so they must be avoided. Personally i’m buying only perfect cartridges (New Old Stock or very close to MINT condition). If i like the sound in comparison to my reference cartridges i am looking for more samples, then i compare different samples. In the last 5 years i discovered some killer MM cartridges, every sample that i bought was great. I also managed to find some NOS styli for them (only originals). I hate refurbished or re-tipped cartridges, i like only fully original samples in top condition. In the price range from $600 to $1500 anyone can find and buy absolutely amazing MM/MI or even MC cartridges from the golden age of analog (70s/80s), in perfect condition of course. I’ve mentioned my favorite models on this forum many times. We’re all have different preferences, but some rare models are hard to beat.

The best stylus is the one that last forever (say 2000 hrs) like MicroRidge, or MicroLine (and related expensive profiles). They are the best for details retrieval and for less record wear. FineLine, LineContact or Shibata also great. The diamond must be "nude". The cantilever must be Beryllium or Boron Pipe, Sapphire and Ruby also nice. Mid or High compliance, low moving mass. This is some of the basics.

Conical styli must be avoided, aluminum cantilevers must be avoided if you’re looking for the killer MM/MI (imo). Good styli starts from Nude Elliptical, a good cantilever must be at least Titanium Pipe.

Some cartridges you can’t go wrong with:

-Victor X-1IIe (Titanium/Elliptical)
-Pioneer PC-1000 mkII (Beryllium/ Elliptical)
-Victor X1IID (Beryllium/Shibata)
-Sony XL-50 (Boron/Elliptical) 
-Audio-Technica AT-ML150 (Gold-Plated Beryllium / MicroLine)
-Audio-Technica AT-ML170 (Gold-Plated Boron / MicroLine)
-Audio-Technica AT-ML180 (Gold-Plated Boron or Beryllium / MicroLine)
-Grace F14 with Beryllium, Boron or Ruby cantilevers.
-Grace LEVEL II with Beryllium, Boron, Ruby or Sapphire cantilevers.
-Stanton CS-100 WOS (Sapphire coated cantilever / Stereohedron II tip)
-ADC TRX-II (Sapphire Cantilever / VITAL III PH tip)
-Glanz MFG-61 (Boron / PH)
-Joe Grado Signature XTZ

P.S. This is what i use myself and i have a spare of some models and styli for them. Never had any problem with any of those carts, i think it’s safe to by any of them used or NOS.

Some decent IM/MI cartridges are much cheaper than SoundSmith.
For example: ADC TRX-2 with Sapprire cantilever and Vital III PH diamond.
Designed by Nakatsuka-San (now ZYX) for ADC back in the day.

Also some absolutely killer MM cartridges can be found for $500-800 NOS with best cantilevers and styli.

I have also used mm cartridges and prefer the HOMC.

MM cartridges are not the same, maybe your MM was bad if you prefer HOMC. My experience is opposite, a decent MM is always better than High Output MC. Also stylus wear and required re-tipping service make HOMC inconvenient and expensive to use, while the stylus replacement on MM or MI is amazing feature. Againg: SoundSmith lecture spread the light on MC versus MM/MI, loads of technical info. 

@dpetri had at least 3 nice high output cartridges and enjoyed them too, but in A/B comparison to my top MM/MI they can't win the contest. 

@thehorn

 How's the Sony XL-50 stack up against the F-9 Grace?

Sony is rare and not so popular, you will not find much info about this model, but Sony is better cartridge, it has Boron Pipe cantilever while Grace F9 has aluminum (or Ruby if you're lucky). I have both cartridges, my Sony XL-50 is mounted on dedicated Sony Soundtech headshell made for this cartridge, here is the only picture of my Sony. 

It's not easy to find a perfect sample of Sony XL-50, the performance primary depends on condition. Since my Grace F9 and Sony XL-50 are both perfect i can confirm than Sony XL-50 is much better cartridge.   

@tyray yeah, NOS styli for rare tip top cartridges is a must have, only with NOS original styli we can actually hear the great potential of the best vintage MM. But some of them are very hard to find.