High Output MC Cartridge Suggestions, Please.

Hi All,

It's time to upgrade my Cartridge.

My current turntable is a Michell Gyro SE, with an Origin Live upgraded Rega RB-250 Arm. I used to use a Goldring 1042 Cartridge but it got damaged and funds at the time only allowed for a Grado Prestige Green (decent cartridge tho, not playing it down).

But now is the time to splash out again. My budget is £500 with a +/- of £100 ideally no more than £550 but for the right cartridge I'd consider toward £600. Preferably tho if it comes in around £400 I'd love that!

I like my sound to be detailed but not swamped in it (so guessing a very analytical cartridge is not for me) at the expense of natural warm tone. I listen to a lot of Funk and Soul music so the cart has to handle bass right but I don't want anything flabby, full taut bass would be ideal. Nothing too bright and toppy tho but it must be able to sing with acoustic guitar, I don't want anything that would dull those harmonics.

It will need to be a high output cart that can go into a MM stage as I currently don't have the funds for a MC stage.

Now here is the next proviso - expense of replacement must be within reason. I change my stylus every 2 years (or sooner if it's starting to sound dull) but MC make this a very expensive option. I think if the cost of replacing the cartridge was affordable I'd get a Dynavector 10x5 MkII but I just can't justify spending out near that much every 2 years... Ideally I'd want to spend no more than £250 every time I got it replaced.

So here is my next question, bearing in mind I live in London England are there any really good retipping services that would make something like the 10x5 work for me?

I'm very keen on other suggestions and yes that includes MM carts too.

Thanks for ready and helping.

 

Why do you replace your stylus every two years?
It should not need to be replaced that frequently unless you are playing sandpaper on your system.
High output MC, I have used Ortofon for a while in the price bracket that you mention (MC30 Supreme which is no longer available) but not sure that the output is high enough to run into an MM stage. This on my SME 309/Gyro Dec (full).

 

I play a ton of records, around 4/5 hours daily and have been using fairly cheap MM (Grado, Goldring) carts for a while so they do deteriorate.... I thought that 500hrs was the recommended point to replace (industry wide)?

I'm considering the Ortofon 2M Black even though it's a MM cart...

What is considered the right amount of hours to change a stylus then? Don't want to get too far off of my original topic tho as I am here for Cartridge recommendations as my head is spinning after looking into it!

 

I use an Ortofon Mc3 Turbo on one of my decks and would recommend it. Tracks only slightly less than my AT Vm540ml (which is a champ at tracking inner grooves). I also have a Denon Dl110, but I would take the Ortofon Mc3 Turbo anyday over the Denon. Much better soundstage, more details and less igd than the Denon.
The Ortofon is priced very good on the Thakker website (Germany).

 

save some coin! get a Denon DL-110 its a great sounding homc cart!

 

Dynavector offer a trade in on their Cartridges, something like £100 off a replacement,ask your dealer. Its still not £250 but thought I would mention it in case you didn’t know.

Warranty Service / Exchange Service | Dynavector International Site

 

Uh, no.

How often you replace your stylus depends on the shape, the cleanliness of the records, and how many hours you put on it. Even under the best conditions, putting hours on the stylus is going to be the primary factor here, assuming you don't damage it on purpose.

It is very easy to hit 1,000 hours or more of play time on a stylus in one year. I've done it in less than one year, when I was playing records all day long for a period.

I realize not everyone puts hours on their stylus at the same rate. Some folks may only be playing a couple of records a week.

 

not a fan of HOMC. get the ortofon 2M bronze.

 

There are retipping services in the UK and Europe. Prices will vary depending on the work done and who is performing it. You'll have to contact the individual outfits and get a quote.

There is always some risk with a retip. The cart will be a different cart after a retip. Whether it performs better or worse is dependent on a number of factors. There is also wait time for a retip. It could be a few weeks or several months or even a year or more, depending on who is doing it and their backlog at the time.

With any cart, considering the rebuild/retip/stylus replacement costs for your replacement schedule is a smart idea. Cart and stylus prices tend to go up, not down. A couple years ago the 10x5 was a $500 cart. Now it is a $750 cart. To the manufacturer's credit, they did improve the stylus on the latest model. Now, don't be surprised if the cart hits $900 or more in the next couple years. Ask your dealer about "trade in" credit once the stylus is worn, before you buy. Bear in mind that policy might change.

 

HOMC is sort of neither fish nor fowl.

The main theoretical advantages of LOMC are lower inductance, and lower moving mass.

With HOMC, you don't get either of those advantages most of the time. In some cases, you will also get worse tracking and tracing ability over a good MM/MI cart, and you lose the convenience of a user replaceable stylus. Not to mention you will pay more.

 

Hence the comment about sandpaper!
The OP has since noted that he puts a lot of hours on, no need for the aggressive response.
I estimate that I have about 800 hours on my Ortofon with, as yet, no noticeable deterioration in quality. Even when I swapped it out for a run-in loaner a whole back.

 

Stylus wear is like a frog boiling in water. Most people won't hear it until it is too late. Only way to know with certainty is to examine under a well lighted, 200X microscope.

 

I am in the market as well - Music Direct recommended the dynavector 20x2, the Hana SL and maybe the Cadenza Red. I can't decide...

 

Maybe he plays a lot of records more than say 2-3 hours a day. I do often. Something to consider. Not everybody who plays records is a light home use case. Sheer hours of playing records does cause styli to wear.

 

I have had a few HOMC's. I really enjoyed them. If you do not have a MC input, I say go for it.

BTW...they were Sumiko Blue Point and Blue Point Specials. I liked the cheaper Blue Point better.

 

Generally I’d say 500-1000 hrs depending on condition. A gyger tip would be more.

 

I had an oracle delphi with fidelity research arm and quite a few multi thousand dollar mc cartridges over the course of about 35 years....foolishly sold it all off(kept my record collection at my wife's insistence)when i returned to analogue a couple of years later,i ended up with a 2m black....it's shocking how dynamic modern mm cartridges can be!

 

I absolutely loved my Dynavector DX3 on my Thorens back in the 80s. Got out of vinyl in the early 2000s but got back in around 2015. MC coil retipping seems like such a hassle that I'm doing MM carts these days on my Planar 3. None of my carts sound as good to me as the old DX3 but that could be subjective memory. And I do like changing the Stylus on my Rega Carbon.

 

Dynavector 10X5 MKII?

 

I have an AT VM540ML (I was the one who opened the thread about it here) and I love it buuut, a friend of mine recently got the ATVM740ML that features a Shibata stylus and it sounds outstanding and is in your price range.
The VM540ML sounds great and is great value but the VM740ML is on a different league for not so much more money.

 

Shibata stylos is amazing at digging out information and contrary to popular belief is very quiet....vta has to be set correctly....a little tail down is a good starting point.

 

Yes, I agree with you. The AT VM740ML with its Shibata stylus is very very quiet and gets out plenty of detail of records grooves,but the microline stylus the AT VM540ML features is also quite good, it tracks extremely well, IGD as someone said before is almost nonexistent and also gets plenty of detail out or records compared to an elliptical stylus.
I got a job, the first in 7 years since I had an accident back in 2012 that left me disabled. Can you figure out what I'll get in some months when my flat broke economy recovers a little? An AT VM740ML, I just love it and can be found inexpensively on eBay from a seller I got three carts from before, all of them legit of course.

 

I believe both stylos get similar accolades....so go get it bud!..and glad to hear about your recovery,nice job my friend!

 

Thank you! Nope, I haven't recovered, I have my both shoulders messed up, I can't lift much weight, 4 Kilos tops, and I'm a big guy, and I lost plenty of mobility on my arms, but I can work at a reception desk.
You wanna know the best of all? The average wage in Spain is 820 Euros, I'll get paid almost 1400 Euros!!! Plus I have a small pension that I won't loose, I'll get it paid anyway despite of being working, of 573 Euros, put that on top on my new job (I haven't started yet, I will by the end of the month or early February), I'll have to pay quite some taxes for both job and pension but it's still a respectable amount of monthly money anyway. In addition to that my new job is on a small village on the country side where prices of everything, from the flat's rent to a pint of beer, are cheaper. I'll be paying 350 Euros a month for a new (5 years old building) and furnished 80 square meters flat, I can't rent anything for that money where I currently live in Torremolinos, in Costa del Sol at 50 Km from Marbella,if Marbella rings any bell to you.
Moreso, I'mnot an urban person myself,when I could drive I used to go inland to the country side in my area, and my flat is right at the end of the village, it has a nice forest right beside the building. How many hours will I spend and enjoy on that forest, either walking or with a mountain bike, I'm w#tt!ng myself just thinking about it...
But I'll wait till Summer to get the new cart, I want to settle down at the job first.
I forgot to say it,the job is a public Goverment job that is a considered a plus in Spain. I'll be working at a kind of hotel for young foreigner students that come to visit Spain on cultural tours. Not bad, not bad at all,I feel like if I've won the lottery.

 

A government job(and it's benefits) are a great way to make a living in pretty much every country on earth...congrats.