Need help with MM cartridge choice


I've stumbled across a good deal on a Rega Planar 3 fitted with a Grace G-747 that looks to be an excellent choice for my second / MM table.  It has an old ADC on it that almost certainly needs a new stylus and I was never very fond of the ADC sound to begin with.  I've had good luck with B&O, Ortofon, Grace, Empire and Shure, but everything except Ortofon is ancient history now.

This table would be used for vinyl that can't really benefit from being spun on the Sota.  Think fair-to-good condition second-hand albums cleaned ultrasonically with minor visible scuffs that have seen a lot of play.  I prefer a neutral tone balance with flat frequency response.  Specs in the tonearm manual are pretty thin; 4 to 10 gram standard cartridge weight and nothing more.

Presuming the table & arm meet the mechanical, operating and geometry inspections when I go back tomorrow, I'd like some suggestions on an appropriate modern-era cartridge match.  I'd like to keep the investment ~$300 and definitely want something for which replacement styli are still made.  For those of you who haven't seen my posts before or checked my system page, I run a McIntosh C50 with a MC302 amp into Rogers Studio 1 speakers.  My primary table is a Sota Sapphire with a Graham Phantom Supreme and a DV XX2 MkII.

Thanks for your consideration and I look forward to your replies!

effischer
Audio Technica VM540ML is your go to cartridge at $249. Even the Audio Technica AT-VM95E at $76 would suffice. You might add a little weight to the headshell.

You might try one of the cheaper Grado cartridges. Lots of bang for the buck. I had a Gold Note Vasari Gold MM cartridge that I liked very much. New, it was under $300.00. Really made my older Rock records sing.
AT VM540ML is a good choice and allows to upgrade the stylus in their VM line.

Nagaoka performs above its price point. MP-110 is below your budget or the
MP-150 can be found around $350.  The MP-150 stylus can be upgraded to the
MP-200 since they share the same body.