Hi looking for cartridges in the < $200 ballpark that will work well with a vintage Dual 1019 Turnable I only play 33 and 45s. Running it though a vintage Marnatz 2220 receiver and using Zu Audio Oman Dirty Weekend Mark II speakers. Thanks!
Jico (well regarded Japanese manufacture of aftermarket styli) have recently released a replica of the Shure M44—a cartridge that would have found its way to many Dual's back in the day and still a favorite for 45's and well as lp's.
I use a Denon DL-160 with my Dual 1229. I like it a lot. Might be a few dollars more than what you’ve set as your price range though.
I've used the following cartridges with a Dual 1019 (playing into a variety of amps/receivers) currently a Marantz 27 - sweet! Shure M91 ED Shure M44 MG Shure M97 Xe Grado Green 1 Empire 888 AT 3600 Denon DL-103 (Moving coil cartridge - wont work with Marantz 2220 phono stage without a step up transformer) AT 3600 AT 440 mla and probably a few others I'm forgetting at the moment.... Out of all those cartridges the only one that that was less than satisfactory was the AT 440 mla, probably because the stylus shape requires precise tracking angle adjustment which the Dual 1019 cannot easily do ( one can play with different thickness mats or wedges for the cartridge to adjust the tracking angle but it is PITA. Whichever cartridge you end up with alignment is easy because the Dual 1019 cartridge sled has a little notch on the side. Align the stylus tip with that notch and your cartridge is aligned properly for the 1019 tonearm geometry.
Ended up going with the Goldring E3.... should have it mounted soon.... Based on what I've read about seems like an extremely capable cart in this price range and competes well with others priced higher. This is for a third system we have set up in the basement... I'll report back. Thanks for the reco!
Just got back my Dual 1019 with the Goldring E3.. Fantastic sounding cartridge! Very smooth, nice sound stage, matches my Zu Audio speakers, not overly bright, nice detail, tracks very nicely… Very happy with it this far! Can’t believe this is a $150 cartridge!
