MM Cartridge or MC Cartridge

Since your PH3 is suitable for phono cartridges having .25 mV output or higher, I would recommend a MC cart in the .25 to .50 mv range. Don't know your tonearm so I withhold recommending a specific cart. Search the archives if you're interested in veiwing opinions regarding the merits of low output MC carts.

To a large extent it depends on the tonearm.

MC vs MM has been debated here in a number of threads.

IMO, at your price range, the quality and performance of MM cartridges are clearly superior to their MC counterparts.

Check with Soundsmith about repairing your cartridge. The MM/MC debate is endless; the last time I looked a current thread on it was past 3500 posts. I like MC but MM is also good. I have an insane amount of money in audio equipment but have never paid more than $400 for a MC cartridge and yes, I have heard $6000 ones. A favorite of mine is the AT 33 EV at $399.99 from J&R. An internet reviewer also uses it along with a $5000 cartridge and hasn't found much difference between them. You have already found out the best reason for not putting large amounts of money in cartridges ; another is there is a very steep curve in price/performance ratio above a few hundred dollars. I have no doubt that the ultra expensive cartridge sound better but HOW MUCH BETTER? The current Ortofon MMs are also good as are the classic ones sometimes offered; the choice is so wide that being specific is impossible without knowing your taste and system. MC or MM , the choice as pointed out by Bsme85 depends largely on your tone arm as well as the rest of your system.