Nagaoka MP-500 cartridge

In my opinion it's comparable to the $440 Ortofon Bronze (haven't heard the Black). For the money I'd take a Linn Adikt or
Goldring 1042.

 

Has anybody here heard anything from Kazu? I sent him a PM asking for his health a couple weeks ago and he hasn't replied. He hasn't been seen here since December 15. I'm seriously worried about him.

 

He is back... he also adjusted the prices. Unfortunately there is no reason to buy directly from japan.
Prices are up 40%
I hope he could find another trademark cartridge in japan with good prices...

 

Great to hear that's he's back. I hope he's doing well. Though it sucks that prices are up, I really had my eye on a MP-200 or 300.

 

Where can you find a MP-500 in the U.S for around $625?

 

It's interesting these have gone up so much. I have one with about 50-75 hours on it as I only use my cartridge for ripping vinyl (not playing wax repeatedly with it). I had thought about selling it, but I think I may hold onto it now in case I ever need a fill-in while I'm between moving coils.

 

I googled for nagoka price increase, but I could not find why this +40% happens ....

 

I ordered mine from LP Gear on 3/6/13 - I paid $599 almost two years ago. It's up to $699 on their site now - that's an increase of 17% here in the states.

I remember when I was ordering...I consider Jerry Raskins Needle Doctor. I went to their site, but they had hardly any offerings - thus I purchased from LP Gear.

I went to Raskins site again today and saw this statement:

"Needle Doctor is proud to be the exclusive Nagaoka USA retailer, offering a one year limited warranty. Nagaoka cartridges bought from any other source than Needle Doctor are gray goods and don't carry the US warranty."

However, they had absolutely none of their products listed for purchase.

For some reason, this brand of cartridges is NOT well represented in the U.S. Too bad for them, they're a quality product that more vinyl music lovers should become familiar with. Hell, I didn't even know about them until I started researching new cartridge options back in 2013. LOL

 

The increase is due to internet hype and the resultant sudden demand for Nagaoka products.

 

But Kazu sold Nagaoka cartridges at unbelievable low prices. I paid US$420 for a brand-new Nagaoka MP-500 (including shipping from Japan to Colombia), while Needle Doctor used to sell the same cartridge for US$900 plus shipping, if I recall correctly. Kazu now sells the MP-500 for US$623 plus shipping, which is an increase of about 55%.

 

Kazu's prices were the prices available at any Japanese retailer at the time.

 

Hi. ALL !!! I'm fine. Thank you for your concern about my health. My desises is on mental health. I was melancholia.

BTW, regarding Nagaoka NEW pricing. Because Nagaoka noticed that I was selling Nagaoka cartridge and stylus cheaply abroad, Nagaoka gave domestic new pricing to keep a price disparity between domestic and foreign prices.

I am sorry that it is no longer able to provide cheaply great cartridge to you. Please check New Nagaoka pricing on the those Japanese website - amazon.co.jp and yodobashi.com.

However, if you want any Made In Japan Products cheaply, I will be able to send to you any items on amazon.co.jp and yodobashi.com.

 

Great to hear from you Kazu.

 

From Max Richter - The blue notebooks (2015 reissue)

 

Liked it so much i just bought a copy on vinyl! Pressed at Optimal, thanks for posting Kazu!

 

Thanks theron d! I am very pleased that my posting is helpful to you.

 

From ECM NEW SERISE - Officium - Vinyl with Nagaoka MP-500!

 

@kazu , I'm thinking of upgrading from my Goldring 2200 to a MP-200 or 300 this summer (I wish had done so sooner!). But I want to ask you if one or both of these would match well with my Pro-ject Debut III and its' tonearm, or if I should consider something else. Thanks!

 

I'm not sure about kazu's pricing, but from most dealers I've seen the the -300 is at a really weird pricepoint - being quite a bit more than the 200 and not much less than the -500. If seriously considering the 300 might as well spend the extra $80-100 and get the top dog.

 

Is there a reference somewhere or general rule about whether or not a cartridge will match well with a specific tonearm?

 

I'm by no means an expert, but I did my fair bit of research when I decided to upgrade my cartridge. There's a relationship between the mass of a tonearm and a cartridge's compliance (the "springiness" of the cartridge) which, in a nutshell, is: A cartridge with a high compliance works best with a low-mass tonearm and vice versa. The MP-500 is a mid-to-high compliance cartridge, which works best with a mid-to-low mass tonearm.

 

What are the tiers for tonearm mass? My tonearm is 9.5g, would that be in the mid-to-low range?

 

http://ortofon.com/hifi/support/cartridge-tonearm-resonance-frequency

 

Yes, it's on the upper end of a low mass arm.

edit:I just noticed Hail Vinyl's link, which is a great reference.

 

Regarding for your upgrading from GL2200.
I would like to recommend, please, select MP300 or MP500



TESTBERICHT AUDIO by Kazu Susumna, on Flickr


TESTBERICHT AUDIO2 by Kazu Susumna, on Flickr


TESTBERICHT AUDIO3 by Kazu Susumna, on Flickr


TESTBERICHT AUDIO4 by Kazu Susumna, on Flickr