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Best Budget Phono Cartridge?

After upgrading my system for CDs and SACDs recently, I pulled my old turntable out of storage to see how it would stack up. It sounded pretty sick, and my best guess is that an old (very old) Stanton 681EEE is the culprit. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on this experiment, but if I can find a decent cartridge in the $100-250 range it would be fun to see how my old vinyl compares. I’m looking at the following new or NOS cartridges:


Audio Technica AT7V MM or AT-F2 MC

Denon DL 103 MC or DL 110 MC;

Grado Prestige Gold1

Sumiko Pearl MM  

Ortofon 2M Blue MM  

Shure M97xE

 Would any of you like to weigh in on this list, or add a favorite of your own? I’ll be inputing to a Parasound New Classic 2100 preamp.


cheeg
cheeg's avatar
cheeg OP
247 posts
 
@schubert — Is your comment based on personal experience or rumor? I bought the Pfanstiel l based on the comments at the following forum, which were generally favorable: 
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/stanton-681eee-nos-or-replacement-stylus.788696/


schubert
7,386 posts
 
MUCH personal  experience , I used to sell them .
cheeg's avatar
cheeg OP
247 posts
 
@schubert -- that got a good laugh at my end!  I'm inclined to take your word over the opinions in that post.  It sounds like you think the problem might be with the needle, not the cartridge -- do you have any suggestions?  Is it worth trying to get a refund, or should I just write it off?  I don't want to spend $100 on a JICO and then find that the problem was with the cartridge all along; is there a better alternative, or should I just give up on the Stanton and buy a new cartridge?
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Spending a hundred bucks and then finding you were wrong is about
 a  lunch for an Audiophile , this is an expensive hobby .

As you seem to still be sane buy a Nagaoka 110 , good on any type of music and very high-quality , They make many other brands stuff in the first place .
cheeg's avatar
cheeg OP
247 posts
 
@schubert — sounds like good advice. @viridian recommended that one too, and it’s looking like the only logical choice.   If I were truly sane, I probably wouldn’t have started down this rabbit hole, but as long as I’m here, I may as well try to find the best sound that fits in my budget. Thanks for your help!
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