Best MC Cartridge $300.00 or less


Decided to try a Moving Coil phone cartridge. Turntable is a Harmon Kardon T 60 and pre amp id Threshold FET 2. Any suggestions?
ferrari
Mr.Eber. Unlike you I have a problem discussing products I have not heard. Considering that I have never auditioned the Phonomena, as those who read and understand English already knew from my previous comments, I don't have an opinion one way or another. Now see how easy that was, Mr.Eber? All you had to do was make a recommendation to the original poster, but no...you chose to discuss a cartridge you've never even heard and are now doing your best to weasel out of the situation instead of simply admitting to your error. Clearly you've been caught making unsubstantiated claims and have avoided every attempt I've made to clarify the matter. I've asked you several questions and you've ignored them all; eventhough, I respond to your comments directly and on point. Worse, you have made every attempt possible to obfuscate the issue at hand by playing Cat and Mouse games and doing your best to run away from your own words - so much for your credibility, sir. Sheesh, Mr.Eber, you don't even seem to have the basic ability to grasp the written word. I simply don't know what else there is to say, Mr.Eber. From what I've read so far this isn't an isolated incident for you, and I certainly hope that you think long and hard about modifying your posting style to not include opinions on components you've never heard, and perhaps have never even seen outside of a picture in a magazine. You may ask yourself what others can possibly gain by your comments, seeing how they have virtually no basis in personal experience, or is looking at your name on a screen this important to you? Perhaps when someone asks for an opinion, based on pure speculation, of a component a respondent has never heard, you could once again post a similar message. Until then you may want you stick to products you have actually had your hands on, as few as there may be. BTW, what is it that I should be careful of, Mr.Eber? Best Wishes, Felix
Mr eber, Was warning Felix to "be careful" a threat? I sincerely hope not. I too have been lurking around these boards for a while, and to be perfectly honest, I've found you to be a boorish lout. Your lack of knowledge, combined with a shouting, opinionated style, makes you too dangerous a creature to be passing out advice to people looking for help. I have zero tolerance for a bottom feeder such as yourself, so be a good boy now carl, and take a bit of time away from this forum to at least brush up on your manners, we'll start on your audio education after you return.... John
For what its worth I have had the original Bluepoint and the BBS in my system. My current cartridge is the Dynavector 10X4, and yes it does blow away the BBS in every regard. After a long run of upgrades in my system, I couldn't come up with the extra scratch for the Benz Glider so I got the Dyna. I have been surprised at how good that cartridge is. It has won quite a few shoot outs at various mags. (Not that it matters). Also a great phono stage is the EAR 834P, which is a tubed phono stage by Tim de Paravicini. New it costs $900. I find it much better than the phono stage in my Audible Illusions Modulus 3A. Between my Basis 1400 the Dynavector and the EAR my Vinyl collection has grown considerably. Although I think there is a Benz Glider in my future... Best-Gary
Hi Gary. I've compared the Glider [both the HO and the LO versions] to the 10x4 and other than the tonality of the carts [the Glider having a warmer, less focused presentation], the differences in sound quality are not as great as the price spread might imply. The Benz beats the Dyna in terms of soundstage depth, but the Dyno is a faster, more detailed sounding transducer with tighter, deeper bass response and a greater sense of clarity. I don't know about you, but I prefer to make big jumps when upgrading. With that in mind, you may want to consider a Lyra Lydian Beta or a Transfiguration Spirit, if you're comfortable with a tonal balance similar to the 10x4, or a Dyna XX-1 or a Benz LO4 [the Dyna being more refined of the two] for a more lush, albeit less precise and focused, depiction of the recorded event. All four offer sizable gains in resolution compared to the 10x4 and the Glider. I used to run an EAR also, before I bought my Ayre a few years back, and had very good luck with JAN 5751s. They're very inexpensive and even if you don't like the resulting change in sound, they're kinda fun to play with [G]. Best Wishes, Felix