Deciding on a turntable cartridge Turntable

New to the forum, in search of some input. Trying to decide between a few cartridges and would appreciate any insight. I have it narrowed down to Nagaoka-MP200, ortofon bronze, clearaudio performer v2 ebony, and grado reference platinum v2 which fit my price point ($250-450). I am currently running an Ortofon 2M Red on my Pro-ject Debut Carbon DC through a Rotel RA-12 integrated amplifier with B&W 683 (4 driver) series floor speakers. Id love to hear opinions or comparisons if people have experience with any of these. Also interested in other suggestions fitting the price range. Preferring to stay with MM for the time being.

 

I wouldn't get the Nagaoka with arm so lightweight as the one on the Carbon. Not the best match. Might work okay with heavier bolts and/or a weight plate on the fixed heashell - not sure.

I would guess those carts all have very different sound signatures. Some of them have very different styli also. You might want to say what features are important to you or what kind of sound you're looking for.

 

What is the compliance on the Nagaoka MP 200 ? I see two different figures for dynamic and static. More confusion. I am used to one figure.

 

The dynamic figure is the one you want. Unfortunately they measure at 100hz, which is not easy to convert to the more common 10hz. I've seen people use guesswork to determine the compliance by using a multiplier of say 1.5.

That said IIRC those carts are designed to work best on medium mass arms and the Carbon tonearm is 6g EM.

 

6 grams EM ? Boo ! I like medium mass tonearms. Maybe I am wrong but I have noticed with low mass arms the bass response suffers. I mean, if the mass is so low that the stylus can move the arm on a bass note, no work is getting done and no signal is generated. Just my theory....but I am sticking with it. LOL.

 

No idea about that. Main thing with the 6g EM arm is that it rules out certain cartridges unless you want to experiment with adding mass like I said. A medium mass arm is certainly compatible with a wider range of currently available carts.

 

I think I'm looking for something with tight bass and a large dynamic range. I would need a cartridge with high compliance to compliment the lighter tonearm, correct? I'm not sure how to assess that, can you help with ranges to focus on? Since ive had no problems using the ortofon red, I assume the bronze will also compliment the lighter tonearm and pick up much more with its nude fine line stylus. The others seem to have elliptical design. Is the difference that great between these two styles?

 

The 2M Bronze would certainly be the easiest route to take and the one I go for in your position. It has a nude fine line stylus which should perform very well.

That said, I don't know how the others will sound in your system. I would definitely skip the Nagaoaka like I said. I wouldn't buy the Clear Audio because it looks like a poor value for what you get. Grado carts are known to hum on some tables and systems. Google "Grado Hum Database" and check if your TT is listed.

Here is a cart resonance calculator:

Cartridge Resonance Evaluator - Vinyl Engine

Plug in your tonearm EM and you will get some numbers and ranges. Check cart specs using that. Be aware that some companies use a different method of calculating compliance and you can't use the calculator perfectly with those.

 

I agree with @patient_ot with going for the Ortofon 2M Bronze. I used the 2M Bronze on my Debut Carbon non-DC turntable for a long while and it works quite well together.

 

I don't find compliance and tonearm mass to be critical. Many advised that the GE VR 1000 would not work with the stock tonearm on my AR 77-XB and it works just fine. If it is a gross mismatch....well of course there will be a problem.