A customer recently asked me this, and I thought it would be interesting to document the cartridges I’ve owned and recommend.
In chronological order, then, from oldest to most recent, let’s look at the cartridges I’ve owned over the years that I can remember. Note that some of them are discussed in more detail in my cartridge inspection and cleaning article.
| Cartridge | Notes | Rating |
| Ortofon OM-10 | Fitted to my first proper turntable, a Dual CS505-2 I bought new in 1985. These jelly-bean carts are cheap and cheerful, similar to a 2M Red. Not very exciting, but they serve a purpose. Fitting a Stylus 20, 30 or 40 lifts them to another level; the Stylus 40 is equivalent to a 2M Black. | C |
| ADC XLM Mk3 | A typical high-compliance MM cartridge from the 1970s, when low-mass arms were the thing. This has decent specs on paper, but I never thought they sounded very good and this one was no different. Very average | C- |
| Shure M97xE | I fitted this cart to my Kenwood KD-600 + SME Series III, for the reasons noted above. Another decent, low-resolution MM cartridge, the M97xE is beautifully made and presented. Like all such carts, these MMs are nice if you don’t care too much about the details, or don’t have the gear to extract the best from a decent coil. | C+ |
| Goldring Elite | This almost unknown gem replaced the Shure on my SME Series III and was my first step into the moving coil world. I ordered my Elite directly from Goldring UK after selecting the cart based on the math. This is a superb-sounding high-compliance MC cartridge, a very rare thing these days. Spectacular value on the right arm, one of my all-time faves. | A |
| Ortofon MC Kontrapunkt h | I bought my Kontrapunkt h new, as my first ‘serious’ MC cartridge to be fitted to my then brand-new Jelco SA-750D. A gem of a cart, super smooth, neutral, and never fatiguing. The Cadenza Red is the current iteration of this great cart, and still good! | A |
| Fidelity Research FR-1 Mk3 * | Purchased from Japan in NOS condition, this wonderful and legendary cart spent time on my Jelco and Koestu tonearms. Another gem, not the most neutral or resolving, but a genuine high performer from a legendary manufacturer and superb bang for the buck. You cannot go wrong with an FR-1 Mk3. | A- |
| Ortofon MC Jubilee | My best cartridge to that point; I bought this cartridge new and loved it for years. This cartridge is better than everything that came before it, a true high performer on most good tonearms. RRP was around $3,000 AUD. I probably should have kept this one. Brochure here. | A+ |
| Fidelity Research MC-202 * | My friend Jason gave me this lovely MC cart, in need of a re-tip. It’s a modest design but sounds lovely. It lacks the authority of the FR-1, but is a nice, rounded performer and not expensive, making the MC-202 excellent value and a keeper. | B+ |
| Ortofon MC A90 * | I purchased this limited edition and the best cartridge Ortofon ever made up to that point, and it still sees regular service on my FR-64S tonearm. I love this cartridge. The new cost was around $4200 USD / $7000 AUD. A serious and superbly made transducer, it comfortably outperformed my MC Jubilee, which I sold. This is one of those carts that immediately sounds different and is one of my favourites. | A++ |
| Supex SDX-1100D * | My rarest and probably most valuable cartridge, the Supex SDX-1100D cost $3200 AUD in the ’80s. Think about that, because some think $3K is a lot for a cartridge now, and yet this equates to around $15K AUD now! Featuring a diamond cantilever, line-contact diamond gem and ultra-low-impedance, low-mass coils, these impossible-to-find carts sound absolutely sublime. I will never sell mine; another favourite. | A+++ |
Notes
Some folks get stuck with various old MM carts or cheap coils, something I advise against. If you believe that a worn-out 1970s magnet is better than any of the nice MC carts I’ve listed here, you need more experience and/or better equipment. You need the very best gear to get the most out of good MC carts, and this is certainly where most mistakes are made.
I suggest bypassing low-end cartridges where possible. This means saving for nice cartridges, but that’s part of turntabling. That said, pre-owned cartidges can offer superb value. Just avoid the only-50-hours ruse.
There will inevitably be questions like: “Why have you not owned cartridge XYZ?”. Each cartridge I’ve owned has its virtues and is part of a deep and extended learning curve that I’ve actually experienced, rather than read about somewhere. I’ve fitted and listened to hundreds of cartridges, tonearms and turntables, but there will of course be some I’ve not heard.
Cartridges, ‘arms and ‘tables require genuinely experienced and knowledgeable folks to assist, and they are about as rare as my Supex SDX-1100D! Next time you have an opportunity, ask your technician/vinyl specialist what cartridges and turntables they’ve owned, and see how they compare. Hint: I already know the answers 🙂
Anyone needing advice on cartridge selection and matching, and anything turntable-related, is welcome to use our advisory service.
Discover more from LiQUiD AUDiO
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.