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A good cartridge match for Thorens 150 mkII?

I just came into a Thorens 150 mkII in good shape and am wondering what modern cartridge would be a good match for this turntable with the stock TP 13 A arm? Price range I am looking at initially is $100 to $300, but would consider more if the gain in sound quality with this table would be justified. Current SS phono preamp has both MM and MC capability. I prefer warmth over analysis.
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thorman
1,262 posts
 
I would consider the Grado Gold if you like a bit of warmth..Also the Shure M97xe would be another...
dean_man
90 posts
 
I've used a number of cartridges on my TD150 with the TP13A arm, and I've had the most success with low- to medium-high compliance cartridges (20x10-6cm/Dyne or less, roughly). It's a light arm so counterintuitive to use a DL103 with it, but the combo was wonderful for me and outperformed the Denon (stock and Soundsmith rebuilt) on my AT 1005 MkII arm (on another table). I'm currently using vintage MMs with the table and enjoying them immensely.

Other than the DL103/103R to consider, other current production cartridges you might look at could include the Sumiko Pearl, Ortofon 2M Blue, and others you can find at the cartridge database using compliance numbers in the search function. I haven't tried a Grado on mine so I don't know if it will hum, but a nice used Platium would be be well within budget and you could sell if it didn't work well.

restock
831 posts
 
I would consider the Denon DL103 or DL160.

That arm is pretty heavy (sorry no accurate numbers known) and the Shure M97xe has pretty high compliance. Probably not the best match.
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