MC versus MM. Which to choose.

PH5 on OP list is capable of driving medium output MC cartridges down to .5mV. In this output range there are plenty MC carts that would outperform even pricey MM.

Raul,

How could you disagree with my statement? I merely stated a personal preference for low output moving coils while acknowledging that some prefer moving magnet/moving iron cartridges. I further suggested that the poster listen to both cartridge types to gain a personal understanding of which he liked better. A personal preference is simply a statement of choice-it is not a mathematical equation that has only one correct answer. I like single malt scotch (Ardbeg "Ungeadail" and Laphroaig "cast strength" are my current favorites), a good friend of mine hates scotch but loves good sipping rum-is one of us wrong? No, both of us have personal preferences that are in conflict. I would never force my friend to drink a glass of scotch because I respect his right to choose rum. LOMC and MM/MI have different qualities-some will like LOMC and some MM/MI-let's allow the poster make up his own mind.

IMO vinyl newbies should start with inexpensive but good MM carts. The 2M line-up from Ortofon are inexpensive, sound great and are easy to set-up. Why buy an expensive cart when you are just getting into vinyl...?

Marakanetz, There you go again. IMO, Nanbil has it about right. And I think Raul would agree. And Tbromgard more or less echoed my earlier post.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I recommend you start with the MM Audio Technica AT150MLX. It's a very high performance MM with replaceable stylus. Thanks to economy of scale, the AT150MLX serves up a lot more tracking ability, frequency extension, low level detail, and dynamics than you customarily get for around $325. It's Abso!ute Sound's Cartridge of the Year this year. It comes with a nuded MicroLine stylus, the kind that usually only shows up on $2000+ MC cartridges. It's a great stylus that plays in the unworn parts of your record grooves.

It gives you a solid introduction to the resolution of high end cartridges while retaining the advantages of a high output MM cartridge--lower noise (because less gain is needed in the phono stage), user-replaceable stylus (about $225), no immediate need for an MC transformer or high gain phono stage, and less challenge in load matching to the phono stage--100-200 pF in cabling and/or phono stage input will do it.

If you decided to move up to an expensive MC cartridge in the future, you'll want to keep the AT150MLX around as a backup, especially when you have to send the MC to an expert to get it retipped.