Moving from MM to MC


I have a Shure M97x cart and it's been fantastic, but itching to test the waters with MC carts. What is the biggest thing I will notice once I switch?

BTW thinking of getting the Denon DL 103 for around $220. That a good bang for the buck under $300?
bstatmeister
The advice I was given by my local store is invest in the cart and not all the things you need to make it sound good.  That's why I went with a $700 MM and not $200 on a MC and another $500 to make it compatible with my amp which already has a phono stage input.
I agree that there are lots of mm/mi to explore that are worth investigating. But maybe consider a ho mc. I like the Dynavector 10x5 quite a bit. Pricey now but maybe a lightly used one. Not fussy to get up and going, nice all rounder. 

I presently have two 103R's mounted on two different TT's (with different arms). A Pioneer PLX1000 (medium-weight arm) and an Ariston RD11S/Grace 707 (light arm). Arm mass is NOT critical! Excellent results in both cases!
@bstatmeister - I’m not going to get into the MM/MC debate because we all have our own preferences, but if you want to get higher resolving sound, I would start by replacing your phono stage. Any of the Simmaudio Moon products will be a huge improvement over what you have.

The LP110 is a great place to start and will work with either MM or MC carts - so you can move forward from there
http://simaudio.com/en/product/110lp-phono-preamplifier/

See what it does for your sound first

I made the mistake of buying budget phono stages. When I got the Simmaudio MOON - it opened my eyes to what vinyl has to offer.

As for your arm - if you are interested - you might want to take a look at the Audiomods arms. They actually do a custom mount just for your turntable

http://www.audiomods.co.uk/technicsarm.html

The audiomods arm is a superb upgrade that you could aim for down the road.

AND don’t believe anyone that says putting the Audiomods arm on the 1200 is a foolish move - I have heard what the arm did for a friend with that very table and it is an excellent upgrade that brought the best out of the table.

In your shoes I would start the LP110 first - and only then, consider a cartridge upgrade.

Regards - Steve
@roberjerman 

Arm mass is NOT critical! Excellent results in both cases!

special for you: https://www.ortofon.com/support/support-hifi/resonance-frequency 

If a low compliance cartridge is used with a low mass tonearm, undesirable resonances can occur in the audible range. Mistracking may also be a problem.

When a high compliance cartridge is mated with a moderate mass tonearm, resonances in the infrasonic range may occur in addition to some unwanted high frequency damping.