What is your favourite Cartridge

[Richard Tremain]

Interested to see if is any favored Model or Brand.

 

 

[Peterbean]

Fidelity Research FR7 is my current one and sounds great but on other calls it’s not good- it only goes on a small number of arms and got v low output 

[Cloth Ears]

Generally a Lapua 22/250...

[Bisguittin]

My favourite cartridge is a vintage Koetsu Rosewood Longbody. 

[Redbook]

[cafe latte]

Really hard to name just one as I have heard most of them and there are some real crackers.

In no particular order, I concur about Koetsu and will add a few others. Decca carts in general but love the Jubilee, it is a real live presentation.

ZYX are nice and I do like the Air Tight carts, they are beautifully made too. The Grado Opus 3 is a massive bargain, I love the 3 range, there is real magic in the latest range. Other cheapies is the Denon 103r, stock or modded it needs a mention. On the right arm ( heavy) they can sound wonderful despite the cheap price.

Vintage Stanton's, Grace and the top Shures, not forgetting Technics EPC carts, the EPC 100 was a moving magnet but the lowest moving mass of all time, a fab cart.

There are many more stand outs, I will post some more as they come to mind.

Chris 

Edited November 30, 2023 by cafe latte

[cafe latte]

Cant forget the very old GE VR1000.

This is a Pritchard designed cart and work like a Decca with the stylus tip being what is read. The difference between these and Decca is the stylus on these is replaceable. With a good stylus these ancient carts can sound very like a Decca, fab cart.

Chris

[mkaramazov]

I think this is really hard, as the fun thing about cartridges are the different flavours on offer and what they do in the context of your system. 

 

I have quite a soft spot for vintage Audio Technicas with beryllium cantilevers, especially the few that had line point / microline stylii. I love my AT 36ML - a rare super low output MC with a very slender Be cantilever and a very tiny microline stylus. The AT 155LC is also a very special MM, and in my view a better sounding cartridge then the revered AT 150MLX.  

 

I am very obsessed with the Panasonic / Technics EPC 451c strain gauge cartridge I use - it is one of the punchiest , detailed cartridges I have.  It would be amazing if Technics could revive this amazing sounding cartridge. 

 

Because of my fantastic experience with the Panasonic strain gauge system, I have become fascinated by alternatives to conventional MM/MC/MI designs which attempt to solve the inherent problems of conventional pick ups. In this camp I would include the Soundsmith SG cartridges; the Deccas; the GE VR1000 that @cafe latte mentions; the DS Audio Optical cartridges; the Weather's FM pick ups, the direct coupled MC designs like the Audio Technica ART 1000, and the various high quality ceramic designs, such as the Philips GP390.  All of these I would love to hear sometime in my life.  I have a Micro Acoustics cartridge here - another interesting design - which sounds very promising - I would love to hear some of the other high end MA designs. 

Edited December 1, 2023 by mkaramazov

[cafe latte]

14 hours ago, mkaramazov said:

I think this is really hard, as the fun thing about cartridges are the different flavours on offer and what they do in the context of your system. 

 

I have quite a soft spot for vintage Audio Technicas with beryllium cantilevers, especially the few that had line point / microline stylii. I love my AT 36ML - a rare super low output MC with a very slender Be cantilever and a very tiny microline stylus. The AT 155LC is also a very special MM, and in my view a better sounding cartridge then the revered AT 150MLX.  

 

I am very obsessed with the Panasonic / Technics EPC 451c strain gauge cartridge I use - it is one of the punchiest , detailed cartridges I have.  It would be amazing if Technics could revive this amazing sounding cartridge. 

 

Because of my fantastic experience with the Panasonic strain gauge system, I have become fascinated by alternatives to conventional MM/MC/MI designs which attempt to solve the inherent problems of conventional pick ups. In this camp I would include the Soundsmith SG cartridges; the Deccas; the GE VR1000 that @cafe latte mentions; the DS Audio Optical cartridges; the Weather's FM pick ups, the direct coupled MC designs like the Audio Technica ART 1000, and the various high quality ceramic designs, such as the Philips GP390.  All of these I would love to hear sometime in my life.  I have a Micro Acoustics cartridge here - another interesting design - which sounds very promising - I would love to hear some of the other high end MA designs. 

The Strain gauge are interesting, not very flat frequency wise( Panasonic) but a very interesting carts, which I would like to add to my collection.

I have a couple of Micro acoustics, they are great carts. Many now with age have issues with the board and have channel imbalance ( one of mine), but using balance it still sounds great.

The VR1000 you to cost nothing but people have woken up to how good they are, now I feel they are too expensive really. Thry look like thry would be massive moving mass but thry are not due to the shape of the armature.

I will add ADC, other interesting Pritchard designs.

Chris

[mkaramazov]

1 hour ago, cafe latte said:

The Strain gauge are interesting, not very flat frequency wise( Panasonic) but a very interesting carts, which I would like to add to my collection.

I 

 

At some point Chris I will ask you to retip my Panasonic EPC 451c - so you may get a chance to play with one .  

[Gandra]

I love my DS Audio DS003. 

 

And my Benz LPS

 

And my Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. 

 

 

[anth0110]

13 minutes ago, Gandra said:

I love my DS Audio DS003. 

 

And my Benz LPS

 

And my Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum. 

 

 

Is your DS 003 running off the DS energizer or another phono?

[Gandra]

On 03/12/2023 at 10:30 AM, anth0110 said:

Is your DS 003 running off the DS energizer or another phono?

 

The DS Energiser. 

 

Wouldn't mind trying another one, even though the options are very limited 

[Batty]

Denon DL110 and DL103, Goldring 1042, Shure V15 type 3 with SAS, VdH DDT-II, Sumiko Bluepoint special.

I once fitted an OM10 to a Hadcock unipivot on a DD TT, took a while to set up but had no right to sound that good for $50.

[anth0110]

5 hours ago, Gandra said:

 

The DS Energiser. 

 

Wouldn't mind trying another one, even though the options are very limited 

There are a few and they’re on the DS website. I think that’s what I’ll be looking at next. There’s a German company called Mr Nixie, the name sounds a little untoward, that’s being talked up but of course lol

[cafe latte]

1 hour ago, anth0110 said:

There are a few and they’re on the DS website. I think that’s what I’ll be looking at next. There’s a German company called Mr Nixie, the name sounds a little untoward, that’s being talked up but of course lol

I have heard a few in the range including the top one and not a fan personally, for me they are a bit too neutral and even cd like, but I can understand the following. I enjoyed my time with them though, they are very well made.

Chris

[Be Quiet...Listen]

Hard to nail down one. My Koetsu Blue Lace and Air Tight PC1 Supreme are definitely special. 

I owned 29 MC cart at once until recently. Koetsu, Air Tight and EMT are the only ones remaining. 

[Superfuzzbigmuff]

MUTECH Hayabusa for me. Unlike others on this thread, I’ve not owned truck loads of carts. I have had Soundsmith, Lyra, Benz carts. The MUTECH is a real standout for me.

[Be Quiet...Listen]

I owned the Transfiguration Proteus (basically a forerunner to the Mutech) and enjoyed its presentation. A uniquely different sound. 

[FNQ Outcast]

I have had 4 carts in recent years, they've all been rather good but;

 

1. AT VM95E with a black diamond stylus that I purchased from @cafe latte & fitted to an Acoustic Signature Primus TT with TA500 tone arm

 

        - Remarkably good cartridge given it's price... it was (a) what I could afford at the time & (b) after trialing several with Chris (cafe latte) we found that the TT was rather picky about cartridges & this one proved to be an extremely good match & under my budget. Whilst I was there, Chris played an album on his Technics SL1200G with a London (Decca) Super Gold - oh, my lord.... you'll see what happened next....

 

2. Stanton 680EE, came with a secondhand Technics SL1200 MkII TT I purchased to replace the Acoustic Signature. A very nice cartridge I must say, whole rig sounded outstanding, more betterer than the Primus/AT combination for sure...

 

3. Post modifying the Technics (KAB mods), I was finally in a position to purchase what I thought was my holy grail of cartridges.. a London (Decca) Super Gold..... Oh my f.....g god... what a cartridge... I have never, ever heard recorded music so alive, so dynamic, blew my little mind!! So frigging good that when I heard they might be ceasing production I bought a second one as a spare... Lol..

 

4. Then Chris decided to tempt me with a London Jubilee at the right price...  I questioned closely how this could top a Super Gold... to be told, greater separation... (didn't mean that much to me to be honest, like I understand, I probably just don't fully understand what this delivers)... anyways, it arrived, got fitted & YUP... BETTER THAN THE SUPER GOLD... like not by miles or anything.. just subtley better... not sure I would have been happy at full retail (given it's nearly twice the price of the Super Gold) but, definitely worth it at the price I paid....

 

So... my all time favourite cartridge would have to be the London Jubilee followed very closely by the London Super Gold... they are streets ahead in musical presentation compared to the AT & Stanton (which, were no slouches either)... very happy, don't see myself trying any others although, Chris keeps trying to tempt me with a Grado Opus 3 (I think) but, I have not been tempted thus far... 

[Superfuzzbigmuff]

@cafe latte seems a good buddy to have by the sound of it…..

[Superfuzzbigmuff]

He does do a good cart tipping…

[h2oyo]

It is difficult question to answer. I'm a MM guy. I would say my favorites are the Shure V15 type iii with the black diamond, and a very close 2nd would be my JVC Victor Z-1. They both sound so good to me.

[rantan]

Unless we are talking unobtanium, my most desired cart is the Dynavector DV-XX2.

I currently have its less costly sibling in the form of a DV-20X2 and their are certain similarities and a house sound, but the XX2 is just at another level and left me speechless.

Sadly, it is beyond my budget but where there is a will..............

[catman]

G'day all, my Ortofon OM10 and more recently a new Audio Technica VM95e, a very pleasant sounding phono cartridge.  Regards, Felix.  

Edited December 23, 2023 by catman
Addition.