Advice needed on MC cartridges


I’ve an Ortofon Black 2M cartridge on my VPI Classic 2 turntable, It’s a moving magnet type cartridge with a Shibata stylus and cost about $700 when purchased. I could easily be wrong, but am under the impression that the Ortofon 2M Black is about as good as it gets with MM cartridges and if I wished to upgrade I’d need to be thinking about moving into a MC, moving coil, type.

So I’ve been trying to learn something about moving coil cartridges and what differences or improvements in sound quality might be obtained by using one. My integrated amp, a Luxman 507uX Mk2, has a built in phono stage and can play either type,

Generally speaking, how much more would need to be spent on a MC cartridge before a noticeable, or significant improvement, might be heard in sound quality over the Ortofon 2M’s performance? What improvements in performance might you obtain using one a better quality MC over the Ortofon 2M Black? And third, what MC cartridges might you recommend that would fit in performance and budget wise with a system composed of the above equipment plus Magico A3 speakers. My other equipment is a Marantz Ruby CD/SACD player and a Shunyata Denali Hydra power conditioner.

I’ve never heard a MC cartridge in use so would be interested in following your advice and recommendations to see if I can find a dealer or someone that might be able to demo one so I can hear what the differences might be in performance. Thank you for any responses or suggestions

Mike

skyscraper

Jim.

Great call on the Lyra Delos! I had no idea you could load the Delos with 100 ohms. Definitely a top choice. Can't wait to hear that cartridge again!

been giving you hints….a Delos and the pivot kit upgrade for your arm will run circles around a Kleos in your unipivot…. i run a Delos in a $7 k Triplaner…. save the Kleos $, fall back ( which will really be forward ) to a Benz or Delos or Dynavector at $2 k…..

just my $.02

Does it look from the specs above the Lyra Kleos has the same theoretical optimal load of 91 ohms? I don’t know how to read the specs with any degree of certainty. It would be nice it would work like Jim’s Lyra Delos does.

 

Mike

I have the Hana ML and I love it. I think the retail on it was $1200, but I was able to get a break at my local hi-fi shop. I absolutely love it. It’s on a Debut Pro and powered with the Parasound JC3 Halo jr. I think it sounds amazing. I would feel confident with any Hana cartridge based on my experience. 

@skyscraper, if you can afford a Kleos go for it, it is a fabulous cartridge and will work perfectly with your moving coil input.

You have to pardon Raul. He can sound a bit harsh due to the language barrier. He always means well. He is a realist and generally hits the nail on the head but many people do not want their nails hit.