MM Cartridge to MC Cartridge

@jasonbourne71 , @williewonka 

Grado can make a great cartridge, I do not think they enter their own until they get away from elliptical styluses.

I owned a 103 and like the Linn LP 12 everyone wants to make mods to them because they are all over the place and dirt cheap. In its day it was a good cartridge. Today it is just a platform for everyone to screw around with. If you can not pick up the difference between any modded 103 and say an Ortofon Verismo either your system, your ears or both need work. The first thing you will notice is the Verismo will be MUCH quieter due to its stylus profile, then sharper transient response due to its diamond cantilever.

The Ortofon 2M Black LVB version is superior to any Grado at or below it's price point. There is no, let me repeat, no $1000 MC cartridge that can compete with a 2M Black LVB cartridge. 

I think the most important part of a modern cartridge is the stylus cantilever assembly. In the LVB the upgrade to the boron cantilever which is stiffer and lighter will improve detail, transient response and tracking. The stylus effects high frequency reproduction and most importantly signal to noise ratio! Many of us have noticed that fine line styluses track quietly. This is because the contact area is much larger and linear, not a point. It is less likely to fall into imperfections. The result is less background noise. Other MM cartridges that have advanced stylus profiles are many of the ATs, the Goldring 1042, Some of the Clearaudios and some of the Soundsmiths. I'm sure there are others that I do not know of. The Soundsmith Voice is the best high output cartridge I have ever used. My Voice is now performing magnificently in a system built on Magico S7s, a Basis Debut with a Graham arm. The new owner's first comment after lowering the needle was," there's no noise!" He insists it is the best cartridge he has ever had in his system. 

@prufrock28, @mijostyn - re...

Grado can make a great cartridge

I agree, however, way back when I tried a Grado on my Rega, it had a hum, which got louder as the cartridge got cloaser to the Motor

• you can ground the motor to eliminate this, but it is a little tricky

FWIW - after I replaced the Rega arm with the Audiomods arm (which is very easy) I heard so much more....

• There was little sign of unwanted sibiliance
• Bass imporved greatly
• imaging and clarity improvements were very noticeable

This was by far the the most worthwhile upgrade to my turntable, the second being the Soundsmih upgrade to my Denon 103. {Note: I am promoting the Denon approach. There are lots more worthy alternatives in today’s world}

Regards - Steve

@williewonka 

That hum is typical of the old cartridges with some turntables. The newest ones are not supposed to have that issue