Best Budget Phono Cartridge?

viridian

... if you are looking for negative VTA, raising the front of the arm up ...

There's no such thing as "negative VTA." You're confusing VTA with the relative angle of the pickup arm - those are two different things. Proper VTA is typically within the 15 to 20 degree range.

cheeg 01-11-2018 2:36am

... the Pfanstiehl 4822-DEE-P is a decent replacement stylus, at only $29 -- that's a no-brainer! At worst, I can use it as a backup set of "rock skis", for my rutted records that would otherwise tear up good needles.

Provided your records are clean, there's really no reason to be concerned that a worn record will damage your stylus. It's the dirt that can damage it, not the groove -  although I am assuming here that these are discs that haven't been trod over with football cleats.

Thanks to the moderators for deleting the hateful post above. It's difficult to believe that matters such as VTA could invoke such nastiness. To clarify, there is no such thing as a "negative VTA." Claiming that there is reflects an ignorance of the geometry of phono cartridge alignment. Here is a link to a graphic that clearly illustrates VTA and SRA and shows how they are related - but very, very different - angles.

Understanding these angles is key to achieving proper phono cartridge setup. However, it is critical to also achieve proper overhang and tangency in phono cartridge setup. That is why I always recommend using a mirrored gauge such as the Mint or WallyTractor, which align the actual stylus/cantilever assembly, and don't rely on the cartridge body or anything else to get those parameters correct.