10 Phono Cartridge Shootout - Sub $500

Goldring E4 is a great cart at $299, well balanced with tight bass

Question...where are you getting these 50% off deals? Also, I am recommending everyone to shy away from Ortofon. I have the 2M Bronze, and it I started losing my left channel after about 55-60 hours of playing time. I thought it was my tonearm wiring, so had it rewired. Played for awhile, and then left channel started dropping again. Found out recently it has an intermittent connection issue inside the body...after only 175 hours of playing time. Ortofon won't do squat. I will not buy another Ortofon product. Was the Wellfleet not out at this time?

Where would you place the Denon DL-110?

THX for your review and explanations of MC vs MM cartridges. IMO, I beleive for money, you may be remiss for not including the Nagoaka MP110 cartridge. On my System : Denon DRA-800H Receiver, using a separate Schiit Mani Phono Preamap on a Audio-Technica AT - LP120XBT-USB TT, the MP was a signifcant improvement over the AT95EN [the OEM] and ATMVNHL {upgrade} playing 2 Music Sources: Nightwatch LP (Kenny Loggins) & Men At Work LP. Better clarity and More Umph! This cartridge should have been in your Top 10.

You mentioned that the conical stylus on the Denon DL-103 "may wear your records faster". Studies into record wear seem to suggest the opposite, i.e. that conical styli cause less record wear than elliptical styli as long as they are tracked at around 3 grams or less.

I don't understand why while listening to the info about a phono cartridge I cannot get a nice product video but get a talking head instead. 😢

So you're saying My favorite is in the top 10!

Did you burn in all cartridges? You can't really judge a cartridge unless it has done a minimum of 50 hours.

Superglue the removable stylus to the body of the AT 95e cartridge and it will really improve greatly (jaw droppingly better than stock - if that's a word). There are more tweeks that make it better, but at a greater risk of damage. You risk damage, and will not be able to replace the stylus assembly, but for $70? It won't match the a Zu (a modified Denon), Denon, or lower priced Hana, but what do you expect for $70.
Give it a try (at your own risk) As noted in the video, get a good / great phono stage, and I'll add - A really nice tonearm and turntable 1st.

should have done the at120e i think personally it’s the best under 500. i haven’t tried them all but for sure i think it sounds way better than the 2m bronze. Stereo separation is phenomenal great highs and deep lows overall my personal favourite cartridge. (i should note that it’s a discounted cartridge)

I don't understand you mixing apples and oranges. Not just MM or MC but trying to compare conical, elliptical, line contact and Shibata. Way different characteristics. I can tell you using a Shibata as my daily driver for the last 40 years, attempting to play vinyl that was raked under a conical with a Shibata will sound like crap. I did glean some information from your video. I am considering the Ortofon MM series and am leaning that way. Seems they have come a long way since the over priced B&O days. Thanks.

Gee, what a surprise. The Hana EH ($500) beats the Audio-Technica VM95E ($70). At the price point of that AT, you're likely going to be pairing it with speakers and electronics that are soft on the high end, so the cartridge's excess energy there may not be the problem that it is in your system.

A shootout of $100 and under cartridges might be interesting. Candidates that are available new include the VM95E, the Sumiko Oyster and Black Pearl, the Ortofon 2M Red and Super OM 5E, and the Grado Prestige 3 Black.

The aspiring DJs out there will want to have a look at Stanton cartridges. They don't match the sound quality of other cartridges at the same price point, but they will withstand scratching and other cartridge abuse. In this price class you'd be looking at the DJ-DS4.

This is some kind of joke right. You talking audio with this setup? Joker get some decent equipment and you might be able to make a decent assessment

Hi there,

I currently have a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with an Audio Technical AT100E cartridge. I'd like to upgrade the cartridge as I feel it is a bit rough around the edges, and the bass is really sloppy for my taste. I'd like tighter bass, better detail retrieval and an overall more balanced and musical presentation. Can you recommend some no-fuss carts I can install on my Debut Carbon?

Debut Carbon is feeding a Sansui AU-555A which is powering a pair of Celestion Ditton 551. I'm looking to spend around $600 AUD.

Hung on for 10 minutes. Meh.

It may have been better to exclude cartridges that are no longer manufactured and comparing RRP rather than the lower than the prices you obtained

How can you review a mix of New and Old used and abused Cartridges? You are not making sence.

Thanks; I enjoyed this! I actually bought my Shure M97XE for $79. Brand new! For the price, at that time, it was awesome! I have found much better cartridges in the over $200. Range which I believe it now costs to grab one of these. It is really fun to swap cartridges out to experience different sounds for different types of music. I am looking forward to going back to finding your phono preamp blog.

Sorry maybe I missed it, where did you buy your cartridges from? Thanks for the informative video.

One simple rule, that may work for most: The phono-preamp should cost roughly as much as the cartridge.

Denon 103R is a MC and requires a much different arm from the other carts, interesting to hear how you were able to compare to the other carts ..


Regards

What about Ortofon 2M Silver?

Like another commenter noted, the Shure M97xe was originally around 100 bucks. I got mine for $87.00. When I heard the news that Shure was discontinuing their cartridge line, I purchased 2 styli for $57.00 each. Greed took over and sellers have jacked the price up beyond reason. For the original price it’s a great performer. For the current asking prices, no way. I have it on my Technics SL-1200MK2. It sounds great on the turntable through my modest but carefully matched system. I have 2 other turntables as well and a total of 6 carts. Looking forward to getting an Ortofon Bronze for my Fluance RT85. Nice review.

None of the Shure cartridges are being made anymore...but you should have tested a Shure V15 II as to me it is one of the best out there...I also have an Ortofon 2m blue which is great

Thanks for your experienced opinion.

Turn the treble knob down on the ones you think had to much high end energy. Is that so hard? If you don't have a treble knob-get one.

Well, oc9 has 25dB +-1.5dB of a channel separation, and 95ml - 28dB +-0.5dB, and you are talking about a better sound stage? From which place it appears? From a worse tracking because of elliptical stylus, or from a worse channel separation? I think you have to either make something with your setup, or to not judge cartridges and simply enjoy music. You prefer cheap MCs to expensive MMs. That’s fine.

So in short your reviews are only suited for you and no one else

Great shootout!!

I have had quite a few styli...MP110(twice), Ortofon DJs/DJE, Denon DL110 High output, Blue Point #2, Sumiko Olympus, and I've finally settled on the Audio Technica AT440mlb. I like the punch, zero inner grove distortion. It might be a trade off in some soundstage. Second best I've owned was the Blue Point #2. The 3D was killer. I remember listening to Louder than Love(Soundgarden), and Rust in Peace(Megadeth) on it, and it just sounded different in a good way. But I did get the occasional IGD which drove me nuts. The DL110 was too crisp and didn't wow me at all. I only paid like $150 for it, so I turned it. I would like to try another moving coil, just been pretty happy with the 440. I do miss the roundness of the conical stylus though, but less definition. I think the nagaokas are slim...and even they recommend changing the stylus at 100 hours. Who can do that? Thats way too short of lifespan for the money. Screw that. It's okay at best. yeah, I'd use it, but it's nothing special.

What you say at 8.20 is incompatible with your disclaimer.

I've seen a lot of good reviews for the Audio Technica cartridges, particularly the 95E. It was interesting to see someone with a different opinion. I have a phone pre-amp that isn't so bright in the top end, so maybe the AT cartridge would be okay for that, but I may look elsewhere for other systems now.

Be interested in your opinion on Nagaoka MP110 or JT-80Lb MM carts ? You seem to call a spade a spade

Does the Hana EL have the same detail as the AT Microline? Looking on moving to one from my 740ML which I don’t really like much (thin/harsh and two dimensional to me). I miss my old Stanton 681EEE and the warmer/fatter tone it had:( That being said, th PTG33ii looks amazing with detail but I might run into similar issues.

I liked the 2mblue but the bronze is stunning it's like someone removed blankets from my speakers! Lol

review starts at 4.15

The Shure M97xE WAS a $100 cartridge. They stopped producing them about 4 years ago. That's the only reason they are now selling for $500. A little research goes a long way.

After months of searching finally got the Hana EL on Audiomart. Paired with the iFi micro2. I was content with my Nagaoka MP 110. I'm now blown away by the sound quality. Thanks for shootout and recs.

Is the Allnic H7000V phono preamp good enough for the Hana?

Ice nine kills record in the background definitely caught me off guard

Wonder how the Nagaoka or a Grado would have done compared to the Hanna in the same price field. Hmmm.....

You should do a shoot out between the iFi iPhono2 and the iFi Zen.

Not so long ago I did a blind test between a Hana EH and an AT-vm95ml.
I preferred the AT-VM95ML.
However I'm also confident that maybe 90% of the people wouldn't hear the difference, they were that close.
(most people couldn't hear the difference on that forum)

I have had vinyl records for over 50 years and it’s my preferred way of listening to music, how are you going to save me or anyone else time or money? in my opinion your results are not the be all or end all, it’s down to the individual and the type of music and sound they like, cleaning records is still highly important, as are the components of your system, it’s not just the cartridge that produces what you hear coming from the speakers.  Your statement of saving us time and money in the long run comes across as rather pompous in my opinion.

This review is all over the board. Varying compliance and run of the mill turntable/phono preamp/SPEAKERS used.
I'd bet a Grado MI around the $500 price point would rival every cartridge in this comparison.

You are undoubtedly a careful listener but I question your use of those antique Pioneer HPMs as your reference. Very ragged upper mids and highs. There are many moderately priced modern speakers that would be better suited to the task.

You are comparing low and high compliance cartridges on the same tonearm? Do you really know what you are doing?

I watch half way I gave up. Sorry.

Did you notice any IGD with the OC9XEB? It's the only AT moving coil they recommend for my turntable (AT-LP140XP), but I've been burnt by bonded AT styli with the VM95e.