Best all-around cartridge for 500.00 new

I would buy a VTA base if your Rega arm uses spacers.And spend the rest of the money on a Shure V15VxMR. Some are finding that the spacers work ok for them, or find they need no spacers at all, but adjustments in VTA that you can hardly see make a difference.The spacer thing is stone age VTA tech. I bet the Dynavector is very good as they have been making great cartridges for years, but this will sound great too and you can really get the angle correct for once. The Grados are wonderful too but can't match the tracking of the Shure and ARE prone to hum in many tables.You will never really know if you have ANY cartridge set up to it's full potential without the VTA base.

I too vote for Dynavector 20XL if your phono can drive it. If your phono can't drive it you can get 20XH. They're great rock-n-roll and fussion cartridges.
Grado most-likely will hum on Rega.

A fellow Audiogonian told me that Denon DL 103D's, a classic of yesteryear, are still available, and at only $229 plus $5 shipping. I had one decades ago and loved it, but of course your phono stage would have to work with a roughly .3mv MC. If you're interested, the only way I know to contact Denon is by telephone: 310-974-1010. It takes a while to reach a human being, but once you do, they're polite and helpful.

I've ordered one for a Rega 25 system but don't have it yet. Grados used to hum with Rega tables--has that changed?

Let me suggest the Clear Audio Aurum Beta S MK 2. I have recently purchased this cartridge (actually its predecessor) and I am very impressed.

Tom, i recently picked up a Denon that had never been used for $100. One of my buddies found it and a few other cartridges from a vinyl "addict" overseas and snagged it for me. He had used one previously and thought it was a phenomenal bargain for the money. As you mentioned though, it is a low output cartridge and does require more gain to perform optimally.

If you're looking for a high output MM type, try a Stanton 881S Mk II. It will smoke a Shure in terms of overall reproduction and musicality and costs measurably less. All the V15 type cartridges suffer from a non-linear distortion problem that an honest reviewer would mention ( some do ). The Stanton has a much shorter and more rigid cantilever. This results in faster tip speed, more detail due to a shorter path to the motor assembly and less distortion due to the cantilever not flexing. The frequency response is more neutral and there is less "grundge" in the upper mids and treble without sounding near as "closed in". The 881 will also track BETTER than the Shure on high amplitude passages with a lot of vertical deflection. A good source for the 881S Mk II is Kevin at KAB Electro-Acoustics. Sean
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