Great tracker cart $100

Forward....sorry mates

I stand corrected by Viridian with $90.00 for the mp-100.

Never heard the Stanton 500 so I cannot comment but it would be a no brainer provided it proves to be better than the 2M Red as Viridian claims it to be.

Shure m97xe is a wonderful tracker indeed.

The following carts seem to be the top choices under $100.00. All good, none perfect.

AT95e special edition black - $50.00
Shure m97xe - $70.00
Stanton 530.V3 (2) - $80.00
Nagaoka MP100 - $90.00
Ortofon 2M Red - $100.00

Your choice, happy listenning!

Phasecorrect,
All this and no mention of the arm?

Also no mention of type of sound desired. What would go with the system, bright, bass heavy, balanced?

The Deft 2 has big bass and a big sound. Apparently it's the same as a Pearl or some Goldring cart, I'm not sure. There's an old thread on VE about it.

If you're looking for a balanced sound, consider the capacitance of your cables and preamp. Ortofon wants to see < 300pF total. AT wants < 200pF. M97 needs 250pF or you get a big treble dip. Too much and a rolled off high end.

The Shure, Nagaoka and I think Stanton are more bass oriented or "mellow". Looks like there's much love for the 2M Red, but there were many complaints about sibilance a number of years ago.
If you have a low capacitance input, the AT95VL (vivid line) or newer 100E, both for med mass arm, is a better choice IMO, but that depends on what you're looking for.
Regards,

Standard S shaped arm ...shure m97xe has a romantic somewhat veiled sound...reminiscent of classic 70s era tube amps, etc...the m97he that came out in the 80s was a great cart...wish they still had that one in production...2m is tempting..as is AT 120e

I took the leap gents...maybe not best for my initial post...but for clarity, open midrange, and punchy detailed bass...At440mmla does the trick...brings and excitement and energy to the proceedings!