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3 Cartridges that have really given you the wow factor - past or present

(a) Audio Technica AT-OC9MLII. I still love this old-timer. Superb performance to price ratio.

(b) B&O MMC1. Why did I sell mine? :(

(c) Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2 - terrifying to install and merely sounds pleasant enough until you set it up like a complete and utter OCD obsessive. When you hit the sweet spot, the results are noting short of sublime.
 
Stemcor said:
3. Roksan Shiraz. Loved this cartridge but often thought that it was being held back by the Xerxes and Artemiz. Often wondered what it would sound like in a different tt/arm.
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Interesting, as I had this combo, new, in the late eighties to succeed my LP12/Tiktok/Karma. I was using Naim boards then, and later an all plastic little stage (3 letter name escapes me) marketed by Michell but made in Wales. Added a power supply to that later. Never really over the moon about this combo, and after the Shiraz began to get thin and strident, I gave up and bought the Orbe/Five/Clavis D.C.

Not sure if I was au fait with the cart. set-up parameters then that we're all familiar with now, so maybe something was amiss and the Essex dealer had to make another trip to Ramsgate to replace the 'orrible Xerxes power supply and re-set the cart directly after his installation. Never really confident thereafter, but you may well be right about the Shiraz.
 
Interesting not see the AT 1000 cart mentioned, lots of people rate this as the best AT cartridge ever but I have heard comments that suggest that its sound can wear you down, not sure if that is general opinion.
 
Mike Reed said:
Interesting, as I had this combo, new, in the late eighties to succeed my LP12/Tiktok/Karma. I was using Naim boards then, and later an all plastic little stage (3 letter name escapes me) marketed by Michell but made in Wales. Added a power supply to that later. Never really over the moon about this combo, and after the Shiraz began to get thin and strident, I gave up and bought the Orbe/Five/Clavis D.C.

Not sure if I was au fait with the cart. set-up parameters then that we're all familiar with now, so maybe something was amiss and the Essex dealer had to make another trip to Ramsgate to replace the 'orrible Xerxes power supply and re-set the cart directly after his installation. Never really confident thereafter, but you may well be right about the Shiraz.
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ISO
 
Supex SM 100 - my first really good MM (replaced a Linn Basik).

Linn Troika - excellent MC.

Linn Krystal - does everything the Troika did and more.
 
I was the (not so proud) owner of 2 Xerxes. They both had the same problem which is that they sound great in dems but upon long term listening it becomes obvious that they are not particularly coherent. My first was a mk1 with a rega rb300 and an at3 which was a bit of a classic combo in its day. This was replaced by a mk 2 with an artimiz and shiraz which was supposed to solve the coherence problem.

I was one of the very first purchases of a Nac 72 with the added benefit that Naim built a pair of “R” cards designed specifically for the shiraz. I’m a bit of a detail freak which is the reason why I like the cartridge but the tt and arm are just not up to the job.
 
This is a tough one, but I’m an Ortofon guy and I’m going to have to list my top five because I rate them so much at their given price points, so from high to low price,

Ortofon Cadenza Black, just sublime, I just couldn’t bring myself to ever spend any more with what this wonderful cartridge offers.

Ortofon Cadenza Blue, if you can’t stretch to the Black but can afford this one, buy it, it’s almost as good as it gets for me.

Ortofon Quintet Black, best cartridge under £1k, really excellent.

Ortofon Quintet Blue, my current cartridge, can’t fault it, utterly enjoyable, a real slice of proper high end sound for (relatively) very little money, I can just enjoy this cartridge and play vinyl for hours on end without worrying about the cost of replacement when it wears out, a new one is £280 when you trade in your worn out one, and that’s likely what I’ll do, it just sings on my Rega P5.

Ortofon 2M blue, great MM cartridge, this is where cartridges go from being “okay for the money” to actually good imho.

I’m going to give an honorary mention to the Ortofon 2M Black, it’s a great cartridge and the best MM I’ve heard, but the Quintet blue has just ousted it for me, now there’s a caveat with the Quintet Blue, although it’s a budget MC, it really deserves a very good MC phono stage to give its best, I’d happily pair it with a phono stage that costs three times as much as the cartridge itself, and when you do, you’re rewarded with an extremely open, dynamic and exciting performance.
 
My response is along much the same line as Tony's.

V15/III, but: Not so much a 'wow' as a finding that I could relax and enjoy the music without being bothered by mistracking, etc. The closest I've got in modern examples was the Ortofon Black.
 
As a result of a misspent youth, I own or have owned: Shure V15 Type III, IV and V; Grace F9-E, Denon 103 and 103S; Grado Signature 8; Shinon Black and Red; Koetsu Black, Black Goldline and Rosewood; Madrigal Carnegie I; Nagaoka MP 11; Roksan Corus Blue and Black, and Shiraz; Sumiko BPS, BPS EVO 3, BlackBird and Palo Santos Presentation; Rega Bias, Elys and Exact; Lyra Clavis, Clavis de Capo, and Skala; every recent Dynavector save the Kaitora Rua; Ortofon A95, and every Hana save the new Umami Red. I’ve forgotten some.

Three standouts in order of appearance:

EMT XSD-15. Bought in Fat City, New Orleans in 1977. It cost four times what I’d pay for the Denon 103s I’d typically use at the time. I’ve had it twice rebuilt by EMT over the decades and, as I’ve improved my turntables and tonearms, it’s kept getting better. Maybe not such an extravagant purchase considered over forty-three years.

47 Labs/Miyabi: into the PhonoCube it was the hammer of God

Miyajima Mono Be: my first Miyajima and my first, true mono cartridge. It's reoriented what I seek in record stores.
 
Top three cartridges for wow factor.
1) Ortofon Cadenza Black. Astonishingly detailed and musical on the end of a Roksan Xerxes 20+/Artemiz. Can find no fault with it at all.
2) Linn Asak. First MC I ever owned way back in the early 1980s. Fitted to a Helius arm on an LP12, it was a huge upgrade on every MM cartridge I'd heard.
3) Dynavector 17DII. Bought this on the end of a Rega P9/RB1000. Replaced it with a Rega Apheta then realised I shouldn't have bothered.
 
1) Dynavector XX-1L. both the 2 and the 2mk2 were 'better' but the 1L holds a special place. Just boogies like a mofo. Great grip and fun. Addictive.
2) Ortofon MC A-90. Holy cow. If G-d made a moving coil.....well..it might not be this one, but his one would be the next step down in the line.
3) Lyra Atlas
 
1. Rega Apheta2 - My best one until now, but not sure, if it‘s worth to pay the price.

2. Denon DL103R - Not the same range as the Apheta2 but worth every Cent.

3. Benz Glider SL - It‘s something between the Denon and the Rega.
 
Linn Asaka
Benz Glider
Audio Technica AT95e (the greatest bargain in the cartridges market). It doesn't make me feel the need to listen to the others I have in the drawer (Sumiko BPS and VDH MC ONE special).
 
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