I would throw the Sumiko Starling in the mix in that price range. Very well balanced, smooth, quick, a lovely cart for ~$2k.
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this is a place with many options, perhaps better prices elsewhere, but some I was not aware of https://www.audiovisionsf.com/collections/turntable-cartridge?sort_by=created-descending& special, used, excellent, sapphire cantilever, $999. I never heard one, anybody? |
I own and rotate about 20 cartridges over 5 arms in two systems, and I’ve owned and/or heard many more than that over the years. In your price bracket I think the Myajima Kansui is a great cart. If you want more detail, but less overall boogie, Lyra Delos (a fabulous value, frankly). As another choice, I enjoyed my Umami Red, but not enough to keep it. |
the music room, certified pre-owned https://tmraudio.com/collections/cartridges#/filter:ss_custom_class:Certified$2520Pre-Owned note: they call some mint/unused, |
I’ve owned a bunch from my first Pickering a million years ago, to Audio-Technica, Van den Hul, and an amazing Lyra Etna on the upper end, but I’ve found Ortofon to never let me down in terms of sound, quality, and value. The Cadenza Bronze (0.4 mV) has always been my go-to fallback cart. When I worked at a US turntable manufacturer I even discovered that their low-end 2M line of MM carts punched above their weight, for folks buying entry-level tables. Happy hunting. |
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