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MM cart suggestions.

Faux said:
I'm definitely happy to look at second hand. Thank you
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You need to be careful. Every single cartridge for sale on eBay is low miles, not much use....yeah right. Don't get me wrong, I've bought and sold used cartridges but you need to be able to trust the seller or you could easily end up buying a totally worn out cart. With MM, I'd basically assume you're buying a body which will need a new stylus.

In the price range you're looking at I'd stick with MM. Cheap moving coils aren't made of magic, they're just different and you may not even like them more than a good MM. Plus, once they wear out you're replacing the whole thing rather than just the stylus. Unless you want to move into spending proper money on carts I'd stick with MM.
 
Recently I received a s/h MM cartridge from a seller on ebay who posted photos of a different stylus. When challenged he arranged collection and refund. His excuse was that he had two of the same cartridge and mistakenly posted me the wrong one. Strangely he didn't offer to send me the correct one!!
 
Mr Pig said:
In the price range you're looking at I'd stick with MM. Cheap moving coils aren't made of magic, they're just different and you may not even like them more than a good MM. Plus, once they wear out you're replacing the whole thing rather than just the stylus. Unless you want to move into spending proper money on carts I'd stick with MM.
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Agreed, i would take a decent MM any day over high output MC.
 
Faux said:
Ok, this is very much outside of my knowledge base, thus asking on here. The Naim Staigeline N gives an input load 47k ohms//470pf, could any MC and MM recommendations be based on that?

Thank you again to everyone who has answered so far, it is really helpful.
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I ran an LP12 / Stageline N with a DV20X High Output and a VM540ML. You really had to turn the wick up with the DV, not that it was a real issue. To me, the Stageline is a bit dull. The VM540 was a much better match for the Stageline and sounded better overall IMHO.
 
KeithL said:
Recently I received a s/h MM cartridge from a seller on ebay who posted photos of a different stylus. When challenged he arranged collection and refund.
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eBay is very heavily stacked in favor of the buyer but it's still risky. Unless you're an expert with a microscope you really have no way of knowing how worn a stylus is. Even if it doesn't sound great, you don't know if it has something wrong with it or if that's just the way it sounds.

I do sell used cartridges myself but I'm honest about the condition. I have a few on eBay just now and description for an old Grado I'm selling says:

"Dirty green colour with added dirt on top of that! Stylus looks like a lump of coal and cantilever is slightly bent so assume this is just a body you’re getting."

I've bought used cartridges as well but It's not something I'd recommend unless you're fairly confident you know a good cart from a bad one.
 
Mr Pig said:
eBay is very heavily stacked in favor of the buyer but it's still risky. Unless you're an expert with a microscope you really have no way of knowing how worn a stylus is. Even if it doesn't sound great, you don't know if it has something wrong with it or if that's just the way it sounds.

I do sell used cartridges myself but I'm honest about the condition. I have a few on eBay just now and description for an old Grado I'm selling says:

"Dirty green colour with added dirt on top of that! Stylus looks like a lump of coal and cantilever is slightly bent so assume this is just a body you’re getting."

I've bought used cartridges as well but It's not something I'd recommend unless you're fairly confident you know a good cart from a bad one.
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Just added on my favourite sellers.....
 
Thanks Guys, just adding to my confusion :)

I’m still not sure if an MC or MM makes sense but there are at least a few good options.
 
Faux said:
I’m still not sure if an MC or MM makes sense..
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Both will work fine but it's about what you want. Do you have a phono stage for MC? Do you want the extra cost of running MC? Like I said, it's not like cheaper coils are miles better than a good MM. They're not. Put it this way, I've used MC for much more of the last thirty years than I've used MM but right now I'm using a Rega Exact and really enjoying it.

When you move to MC carts the law of diminishing returns really starts to kick your teeth in. Unless you are happy to sink a fair bit of money into it, then do the same again in a few years when it's worn out?
 
I'll be honest, I'd take an Audio Technica over a 2M and I like the 2Ms. Is a 2M Red better than a VM95e? Maybe a bit, but it's twice the price and it ain't twice as good. I don't know that it's much better at all really.

And you've got an LP12/Ittok. All of the MM carts Linn sold for that era of deck and arm were Audio Technicas. The Basik, K5, K9 and K18 were all AT carts. They're a good match.
 
Mr Pig said:
Both will work fine but it's about what you want. Do you have a phono stage for MC? Do you want the extra cost of running MC? Like I said, it's not like cheaper coils are miles better than a good MM. They're not. Put it this way, I've used MC for much more of the last thirty years than I've used MM but right now I'm using a Rega Exact and really enjoying it.

When you move to MC carts the law of diminishing returns really starts to kick your teeth in. Unless you are happy to sink a fair bit of money into it, then do the same again in a few years when it's worn out?
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Thanks for the sensible advice. It is often the little things that cause the most confusion. I’ve always been happy with the AT95e as it was cheap and I didn’t expect too much from it, but I’m just finding I want more.
 
Faux said:
I’ve always been happy with the AT95e as it was cheap and I didn’t expect too much from it, but I’m just finding I want more.
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This statement is probably more important than you think. Finding a balance you like can be very hard and if you've been happy with a setup, happy with products for a long time it counts for something. Even if a different cartridge is actually better there is no guarantee it will slot into your system the way the little AT has. It might be a great cartridge but has a different sonic signature or isn't quite as snappy and you've lost the balance.

If the cartridge was expensive you'll probably persevere with it, maybe change other things to try and get it to work for you. Maybe you'll just play records less.

I'm not saying the old 95e was the best cartridge in the world and you should stick with it. Nor am I saying other brands of cart are useless, there could be a cart out there you'd love to bits. All I'm saying is that if you want to minimize the risk another Audio Technica might be a good move. They do mostly have a family sound and paying more just gets you more detail, refinement etc.

When you say you want more, can you identify areas you'd like to see improvements in?
 
I'll admit to not being much familiar with NAIM phono stages - but I've gone to some effort to get the capacitance lower on my phono stages just so I could get the best out of my AT cartridges -why are AT's a good idea into 470pF ?
 
My AT cartridges (740ml, 150sa, 95e, Carbon) all work much better with just cable load (150 pF) and 68k. I’ve tried many combinations, and that is the best I could get.
 
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