Which cartridge do you use?

[mynameismatt]

Which cartridge do you use and why?

I'm looking to buy something new.

Thanks.

[BrunoRepublic]

Shure V15]Shure V15VxMR[/url]. Best tracking out there and flat response. No inner groove distortion, and the stabilizer brush helps absorb shocks from warps.

[Sami M]

Goldring 1042. It handles hights on the 12" without any distortion, the sound is wide, pure and vivid. The good thing is, you can buy the 1012 cart and upgrade it to 1042 just by changing the needle. In the 10-series the cart is the same, but the needles come with different cutting and 1042 is the best.

In most of the Europe the 1042 seems to be about the same price range with the above recommended Shure, but 1012 is much cheeper and already a good cart.

A friend of mine just bought Grado green, and it suprisingly has trouble with some hights on the 45 rpm 12".

I believe you were thinking of home listening and not dj carts...

[Forrrce]

Best avoid Grado. Their popularity is a complete mystery and they're obviously a company which has standards to keep down.

As my personal favourite - Denon's DL-304, is no longer in production - a good alternative may be Ortofon's MC15 Super II, which is inexpensive and a decent tracker - but a Denon, it ain't. Has a peculiar affinity with certain major label 12"s and those horrid, mid-'70s United Artists pressings absolutely leap to life. The transformation on certain records is truly remarkable...must be the angle of the dangle.

If you can stretch to it, Clearaudio's Sigma is a high-output moving coil (the aforementioned Denon and Ortofon are lower) which, when used with a good arm and deck, has a powerful, forward sound. Bridges the gap between (good) vinyl and well-mastered CD like few can.

[K-Bee]

I use the Goldring Elektra cartridge. It's not very fancy or expensive but it sure does the job and is way better than the Rega Elys I used to have (even though that was a whole lot more expensive)

[Bernie]

Currently using an Audio-Technica AT OC9 moving coil. Took a while to break in, but well worth the time as it has great seperation, is open without being lightweight and seems to track almost everything. I've really gotten hooked on the OC9. Before this I was using an Ortofon X5 MC, which was nice, but seemed a little too bright for my tastes.

[originalbigm]

From an audio reviewers best of 2003 list

" I basically narrowed it down to two spectacular cartridges, the Clearaudio Aurum Beta and the Dynavector 10X4 mk.II, for everyone. Even if $350 seems like way too much money for a cartridge, you should still buy one of these cartridges, since they offer such a clear window into actual musical events (wow, I sounded almost like a real audio reviewer there for a minute!) In fact, I picked these two cartridges as Cartridge of the Year two years ago. I didn't even have this category last year, because I would have just repeated myself.

So what's different this year? Well, the Dynavector has been discontinued. But before you panic, and say, "I really don't like the sound of the Clearaudio!", I must announce the introduction of the new Dynavector 10X5! Yes, it sounds better than the 10X4 mk.II, so much better that they named it the 10X5 instead of the 10X4 mk.III. And yes, it is still high-output, so it will work with most phono preamps, integrated amps, preamps and receivers provided they have an actual phono section. I had a chance to hear one mounted in a Rega Planar 3, and even though it's been a couple of years since I put a 10X4 in my Rega Planar 25, it sounded really, really nice. Before, I felt that the Clearaudio and the Dynavector were equals, even though they sound a little bit different (the Aurum Beta is a little more cool and dry compared to the Dyna). In fact, I used to give the edge to the Aurum Beta. Now it's clear that if I was looking for a cartridge for less than $500, the 10X5 would be a no-brainer. And the greatest part is that Dynavector didn't raise the price on this baby. It's still just $350 (I've seen it listed with a $360 MSRP, but most places are selling it at the lower price). And before you say that that's a lot of money, more than you want to spend on an entire analog rig, let me once again say that if you buy one, you will not be sorry, and you will never look back."

[BrunoRepublic]

Originally Posted by Sami M

In most of the Europe the 1042 seems to be about the same price range with the above recommended Shure, but 1012 is much cheeper and already a good cart.

Yep, location has a lot to do with value. In North America, Goldrings are way overpriced, and Shures are a bargain. Ortofons aren't cheap here either.

A friend of mine just bought Grado green, and it suprisingly has trouble with some hights on the 45 rpm 12".

Not surprising at all. I second Forrrce's opinion on Grados. I have never understood the huge following they have; none of them can track better than a rusty nail. The Black is a good cheap cartridge for someone who is just doing casual listening, but I can't understand why anyone would spend the money on their higher-priced carts.

[paul]

I also agree that Grados are overrated. I have one of their midlevel cartridges and I am unimpressed. My 25 year Micro-Acoustics beats it in every respect. I'll grant you that the MA was costlier but I've had cheap Shure cartridges that sounded and performed a lot better.

[Forrrce]

One can only assume that Grado die-hards (of which there are many) are the victims of one of hi-fi's biggest works of spin, or just plain hoax... maybe they're a phenomenon worth investigating!:lol:

Another cartridge heavy on the wallet is the Van Den Hul Colibri, which I auditioned about 3 years ago. I brought along my favourite 'end of side' test discs for this purpose - and it sailed through effortlessly. Brainstorm's 'Positive Thinking' (last track, side 2, "Journey To The Light") was always contentious, but I heard it more openly and clearly than even the Denon could convey.

My criteria for cartridges can fit on the back of a postage stamp - but inner-groove tracking is the #1 concern.

Unfortunately, my budget couldn't stretch to the Colibri's £1,500 after my turntable upgrade, but it's certainly my premiere splash-out fantasy.

Definitely worth road-testing if the chance arises, if even just to do it.

[mynameismatt]

Thanks for the replies!

Originally Posted by Graham_Start

Shure V15VxMR. Best tracking out there and flat response. No inner groove distortion, and the stabilizer brush helps absorb shocks from warps.

I DJ, so I have decided on the Shure Whitelabel carts. I heard that they were based on the design of the Shure V15??

I also liked the Shure M35X. I did not like the Shure SC35C, M35S, or Ortofon DJ S carts.

(I know, I know, the above are no where near $300+....)

[BrunoRepublic]

The Shure DJ carts couldn't possibly be based on the V15. The V15 has a very fine stylus and tracks very lightly (only 1 gram), which is the exact opposite of what you need for DJing.

Unfortunately, the design requirements for DJing and excellent sound production are mutually exclusive. You simply can't make something fine enough to produce good sound that can withstand the physical demands of DJ use.

[NickNack]

For DJ cartridges I stick with Stanton. I just picked up a matched set of the 680HP. Haven't even had a chance to hook them up yet but I know they'll do the job. Been putting Stantons on my Technics since day one both in the clubs and at home. Never any problems.