So what sounds better then? Moving Magnet or Moving Coil?

Always used moving coil, have used Linn Asak, ortofon mc30 super, 0c9, linn troika, benz glyder. Glyder worked like a dream, not fussy on set up,excellent tracker,
Waiting on m. bastin to finish my plinth for my 401.
For an education, bought thorens td150, and fitted shure v15 mk 3.
In all my years this had to be the best cartridge, abd by a large margin. I,m using a Jico stylus.
Someone said on one of the forums that we really had it all in the 70,s.
Then manufacturers got greedy and went to the MC side of things. Purely out of greed.
The number of times i can recall readers letters complaining of mistracking are numerous . Never a problem before.
I won,t go back to the coil route again!
I believe the saying that we had it all in the 70,s was, sadly true.
My v15 unfortunately shows that some treasured lp,s are damaged through mis tracking. V15,s akg,s Najoakas, and so many others tracked flawlessly.
This superb tracking reveals a LOT of detail that up till now had gone unnoticed.
Ortofons 2M black is superb.
Is any cartridge worth £1300?

 

I'm about to get to the bottom of all this.
I have purchased the following for a side by side shootout. It will take a while to be sure each set up is at its full potential. Once I've narrowed it down to 3-4 carts I will compare tables too.

Goldring 1042
Roksan Corus with 1042 stylus
Shure M97xe with stock stylus
Shure M97xe with Jicco SAS
AT33 E
AT33ptgii
ATOC9ml (old one)
Denon 103

I have a Harmon Kardon SUT that toggles from 1:18 to 1:28

I'll be using my Yaqin MS12-b with vintage Phillips and RCA's along with JJ's

I'll do all the comparing with a Nima Unipivot arm. The top 3-4 will also be tried on a pioneer pl530 and then possibly on music hall or Rega table to see it it's about synergy or the best is the best.

 

Be very interesting!

 

I'm pretty excited...and broke. I promised my wife I would finish tiling our guest bath before I do all this. Tiling sucks.

 

I have 4 vintage MM cartridges, all CD-4 Quadraphonic capable, that were made in the '70s, 3 Audio Technicas (AT-12Sa, AT-14Sa, AT-15-SS) and a JVC 4MD-20X, and each one is a superb tracker. I do have an Audio-Technica AT-OC9MKII moving coil cartridge, and it sounds wonderful and also is an excellent tracker. However, I'm not going to like having to send it off to have it re-tipped when the stylus is worn. I guess I should buy a spare to install on my Pro-ject turntable for that eventuality.

As for worth, here's my take on it: When you buy a high-end moving coil cartridge you're buying a hand-made cartridge. It has been tested to ensure it performs to specification, and the company that makes it needs to recoup R&D costs. So the price reflects all of those things, and small production numbers mean that the company has to charge a big price. If you can afford to buy a cartridge costing thousands of pounds or dollars, and it gets you to audiophile heaven, then it is worth it.