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Need help with phono cartridge selection

Hello all,

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am finally getting around to upgrading my phono cartridge and looking for some advice. I mostly listen to rock and jazz using the following setup:

Receiver - denon AVR 4306
Speakers - Polk audio 
Record player - Pioneer PL-630 with medium mass arm.

With all the reading I have done I am in information overload and not sure which direction to go. Current budget is roughly 500 or less. 

Current cartridge considerations:
Denon dl-110
Ortofon om20
Ortofon 2m Bronze
Nagaoka mp-200 or the 150
AT ML540ML
AT VM95E or ML
Hana EH
I am open to other suggestions as well 

Again, I am new at this so I appreciate your patience and your help. 

Theo.

theo71
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,405 posts
 

I prefer the AT over the Denon and I own both.

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,825 posts
 

You might consider a phono amplifier instead of the receiver's input. Try a Schiit Mani 2 into an aux input.

jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,130 posts
 

I agree with Myjostin 100%.

theo71 OP
2 posts
 

Hi all,

First, thanks for the solid advice and input.  After reading your comments and continuing to read article after article, I have narrowed my list down to (plus added a couple) to the following:

AT VM540ML - $279.00

AT VM740ML - $349.00

AT VM750SH - $449.00

Goldring 1042 -$699.00

I also realized I may have to increase my budget a little.😀

Does anyone see any issues with any of these cartridges being used on the pioneer PL 630?  
Just out of curiosity, have any of u had any combination of these that allowed you to compare them to each other?  Can you share if possible?
Are there any websites that has samples you can listen to besides YouTube?  Any suggestions?  

I really don’t want to spend a larger amount of money if the difference is not that noticeable. 

It really sucks that one can’t go to a store and test drive these….

Thanks for your patience and input.  

 

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,825 posts
 

What are you using currently? What type of sound do you like? The Goldring is a bit warm while the ATs are more neutral–maybe a little bright–but not harsh. I use a VM750SH as a spare or when not in the mood for my more dynamic and nuanced Deccas. It’s decent and does everything well. It will need 10-20 hours to settle in, being a little bit brittle and thin at first.

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