2. misc-audio
  3. 133450-106038

Best Budget Phono Cartridge?

After upgrading my system for CDs and SACDs recently, I pulled my old turntable out of storage to see how it would stack up. It sounded pretty sick, and my best guess is that an old (very old) Stanton 681EEE is the culprit. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on this experiment, but if I can find a decent cartridge in the $100-250 range it would be fun to see how my old vinyl compares. I’m looking at the following new or NOS cartridges:


Audio Technica AT7V MM or AT-F2 MC

Denon DL 103 MC or DL 110 MC;

Grado Prestige Gold1

Sumiko Pearl MM  

Ortofon 2M Blue MM  

Shure M97xE

 Would any of you like to weigh in on this list, or add a favorite of your own? I’ll be inputing to a Parasound New Classic 2100 preamp.


128x128cheeg
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,479 posts
 
With this Parasound 2100 you will not be able to properly play LOW output MC cartridges. So, High output MC’s and MM’s will work fine. This means No to the Denon DL103 and Yes to the 2M blue. If it were me, I would go with a Ortofon 2M red $100 best bang for the buck!

 (I am assuming your using a typical S shaped tonearm with removable head shell)




Matt M
cheeg's avatar
cheeg OP
241 posts
 
Good catch, Matt -- thanks!  I'll scratch the DL 103 off my list, as well as the AT-F2.  Among the others are there any opinions on sound quality?
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Grado all the way! I still have my vintage Grado G1 as a backup to my MC's! Because Grado's are MI types they are immune to capacitive loading! So can be used with any cable length!
More to discover