Tigerjones
Bagpuss
Good evening and welcome to my boring tale of moving magnet cartridges, please feel free to add your own.
I have recently moved my turntable - Technics SL-1200 MK2 - away from her normal partner - JVC AX Z1010 - in the lounge and set her up in the dining room. My kids make it difficult to remember what my lounge even looks like. So, she now has some new partners in the dining room, a Sugden A21 (the proper A21, the one with the wooden sides) and a pair of Royd Minstrels.
But first let’s rewind a quite a few years. I contacted Patrick at Sugden around six years’ ago enquiring which MM carts were a good match for the A21. His recommendations were the GR 1042 and the Ortofon 2M range. I bought a 1042 and loved this cart, possibly the best cart I have owned apart from the Denon DL-110.
When the time came to replace the 1042 I was using the JVC amplifier. I went out and bought an Orfoton 2M Red, I instantly hated this cart, I’ve described it on here as a ‘screechy dog of a cartridge’ (don’t worry readers, if you’ve not given up yet, there’s a twist in this particular tale) Off it went, in to the box of random hifi rubbish.
What replaced it? You all ask. After some deliberation I bought a Nagoaka MP-110. I have enjoyed this cart, a nice match with the JVC and have used it for a couple of years. A very pleasing sound, if a little soft at times.
However, moving the Technics and Nagoaka to the Sugden hasn’t proven to be a particularly good partnership, lacks high energy and sounds rather shut in. Maybe the cart has run out of batteries.
So - and here comes the twist, ladies and gentlemen - I, In desperation, got the 2M Red out, stuck it in the arm and off we go. Well, blow me down with a feather. It sounds pretty good, couldn’t quite believe it was the same cart I had tried with the JVC a few years ago. It’s still got a lot of energy going on up top and I don’t think it tracks that well on the inside, but it has a lot of drive to it and decent bass. Well I never.
I now find myself thinking about a suitable MM cartridge for the Technics that has some of the drive the 2M Red has but with a more refined sound and less of the top end.
If I had the money I’d buy another GR1042 or the DL-110 but that’s not quite the bargain it once was.
What MM carts below £150 do people recommend?
Cheers
Tiger
I have recently moved my turntable - Technics SL-1200 MK2 - away from her normal partner - JVC AX Z1010 - in the lounge and set her up in the dining room. My kids make it difficult to remember what my lounge even looks like. So, she now has some new partners in the dining room, a Sugden A21 (the proper A21, the one with the wooden sides) and a pair of Royd Minstrels.
But first let’s rewind a quite a few years. I contacted Patrick at Sugden around six years’ ago enquiring which MM carts were a good match for the A21. His recommendations were the GR 1042 and the Ortofon 2M range. I bought a 1042 and loved this cart, possibly the best cart I have owned apart from the Denon DL-110.
When the time came to replace the 1042 I was using the JVC amplifier. I went out and bought an Orfoton 2M Red, I instantly hated this cart, I’ve described it on here as a ‘screechy dog of a cartridge’ (don’t worry readers, if you’ve not given up yet, there’s a twist in this particular tale) Off it went, in to the box of random hifi rubbish.
What replaced it? You all ask. After some deliberation I bought a Nagoaka MP-110. I have enjoyed this cart, a nice match with the JVC and have used it for a couple of years. A very pleasing sound, if a little soft at times.
However, moving the Technics and Nagoaka to the Sugden hasn’t proven to be a particularly good partnership, lacks high energy and sounds rather shut in. Maybe the cart has run out of batteries.
So - and here comes the twist, ladies and gentlemen - I, In desperation, got the 2M Red out, stuck it in the arm and off we go. Well, blow me down with a feather. It sounds pretty good, couldn’t quite believe it was the same cart I had tried with the JVC a few years ago. It’s still got a lot of energy going on up top and I don’t think it tracks that well on the inside, but it has a lot of drive to it and decent bass. Well I never.
I now find myself thinking about a suitable MM cartridge for the Technics that has some of the drive the 2M Red has but with a more refined sound and less of the top end.
If I had the money I’d buy another GR1042 or the DL-110 but that’s not quite the bargain it once was.
What MM carts below £150 do people recommend?
Cheers
Tiger