Reasonable moving coil cartridge


I am looking to purchase a Music Hall 1.5 TT. The selling point being a removable headshell. 

That being said, i am looking for a reasonably priced moving coil cartridge to use on the MH. My preamp is the Bryston 1B- MC. I am not looking to refinance my house. Something in the neighborhood of $200-300 USD. I dont need to worry about a moving coil amplifier as the MC comes with one built in.

thanks
128x128jcipale

Showing 4 responses by jcipale

Several solid recommendations here. Thank you!

One brand that is noticeably absent is Ortofon. 

thanks
So after further review, and having a bit of extra money in my pocket from some unused cash bonuses from work, I am going with the following:
  • Fluance RT84 turntable: $449 (USD) - I couldn’t justify spending an extra $50USD on the acrylic platter.
  • Ortofon Quintet Red: $274.00 (USD) - It was a toss-up between this and the Denon. But since the bulk of my music is jazz bass/guitar, this seemed like a best choice.
  • Marantz CD6006 CD: $465.00 (USD) - Sadly, this is the only piece of gear available locally.

Total cost: $1188.00
The Fluance comes with an Ortofon Blue 2M cartridge (MM Elliptical). Ebay will be a good place to recoup about $100.00
Now all I need to do is figure out how to hide the boxes from the CFO when they arrive on the doorstep. The things we do for our obsession.
*sigh*

i was going to get a bit pissy, but i see i left out some information.
  1. i already have a JVC QL-A2 w/Grado Blue (MM) elliptical cartridge
  2. The new turntable will become the reference/preferred TT for new/cherished recordings.
I have the choice of sending the Bryston 1-B to be factory modified to remove the MC option, but with shipping and labor, i am approaching $500.00 w/insurance.

i certainly did look at the Hana, but wasnt sure if i could convince the CSO of te additional cost.