Nagaoka MP-500, what's your comment?

I had the Nagaoka MP-500 in my system for about 6 months and found it to be fairly engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed my listening sessions during this period. Soundstage, imaging, etc. were pretty reasonable compared to other fairly high-end MC cartridges I have (Transfiguration Orpheus, Dynavector XV-1S), obviously at a fraction of the cost. The biggest differentiation was only a modest level of retreiving detail for the Nagaoka; again compared to other cartridges that excell in this area. I would recommend the cartridge for anyone wanting to have a MM experience.

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I used 47k for resistive loading (not able to easily set 100k on my phono stage.). The midrange was the most appealing segment of the frequency range which was great for vocals. Spatially, there was a bit less definition in localizing sound (e.g. from different vocalists or instruments compared to higher end MC cartridges. As others have described, there was an aesthetic appeal and a rounded warmth to the sound that gave a nice musical presentation. My electronics (Spectral pre and amp) are capable of retrieving very fine detail, which in the case of the Nagaoka MP-500 were just not brought out or as well resolved as with higher end cartridges.

I tend to rotate cartridges once or twice a year, for variety. (I just have a single arm, Vector 4 on Basis 2500 turntable). It may be another 2 years before I get back to the Nagoaka. As the next MM, I hope to install my Shure V15xMR which is currently at Soundsmith for retipping.