Which mm cartridge

MC cartridges are generally more expensive. All of the cartridges we offer are MM, but if you are looking to take your Orbit to the next level, you might want to consider installing an MC cartridge like the Denon DL For more technical info on MM vs.

MC cartridges, check out this article. Mount type: Most cartridges including all of ours are standard mount. P-mounts have four slender pins that plug directly into tonearms specifically made for use with P-mount cartridges our tonearms are not made for this.

Now that we know a little bit about how cartridges work, let's dive into some of the different cartridges we offer:. It features an aluminum cantilever, and delivers good musical detail with a slightly bright edge.

The AT91B has a conical stylus, which somewhat limits trackability and playback resolution. Available on the Orbit Basic and Orbit Custom. It is a great choice for listeners who enjoy a wide variety of genres. The OM5E's elliptical diamond stylus gives this cartridge an advantage over the CNAL when it comes to tracking and overall clarity. Available on the Orbit Plus and Orbit Custom. The Black3 features a unique 3-piece cantilever and a proprietary Flux-Bridger generator, which is capable of higher resolution than standard moving magnet generators.

These distinctive elements give Grado cartridges their signature warm sound and impactful bass. Ortofon 2M Red The 2M Red is a versatile cartridge that has earned an excellent reputation among reviewers and everyday listeners. The presentation is composed, and there's a ton of detail to get your teeth into. It's a doddle to fit and align too, thanks to its square-shaped body. A truly capable and musical performer.

Read the full Pro-ject Pick-it DS2 review. This generation of Roksan cartridge has been 30 years in the making, so to say anticipation is high is something of an understatement. It's a pretty heavy unit, and is a little fiddly to fit. But the sound is more than worth it. It's a refined, precise presentation, with tunes sounding crisp and detailed. The soundstage is wide and expansive — the sonic equivalent of a rolling vista — and there's a great level of insight.

It treads a fine line tonally too, with plenty of body and authority. At times it lacks a little verve, but overall it's at home playing host to a wide range of musical styles and genres. Read the full Roksan Corus2 review. His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.

What Hi-Fi? Included in this guide: 1. Goldring E3. One of the best cartridges we've heard at the money — a fine all-rounder. Specifications Moving Magnet: Yes. Moving Coil: No. Cartridge weight: 6. Nominal tracking weight: 2. Tracking weight: 1. Reasons to avoid - Nada at this price. Goldring This Goldring takes a bit of effort to get in place, but the sound is worth it.

Cartridge weight: 7. Nominal tracking weight: 1. Reasons to avoid - Tricky installation - Sensitive to set-up. Ortofon Quintet Blue. An excellent moving coil cartridge that's very modestly priced. Specifications Moving Magnet: No.

Moving Coil: Yes. Cartridge weight: 9g. This got me thinking that it might be hope for the AT-LP as well. The turntable I bought first. After many more nights researching cartridges, I pulled the trigger and ordered a cartridge upgrade for my AT-LP too. The turntable was transformed. It opened up and sounded much more lively and engaging. It almost made me sorry for having dismissed the AT-LP so quickly initially. It became a much better sounding turntable with a better cartridge.

You can read my full article on finding the best cartridge for my AT-LP here and my full article on finding the best cartridge for my Rega Planar 2 here. The cartridge performed a highly complex task. It transforms the tiny physical grooves in the record to a tiny electrical signal. It takes an extreme level of precision to make the electrical signal an accurate representation of the physical grooves in the record. A high-quality cartridge will perform that task with much more precision than a budget cartridge.

A high-quality cartridge will read the grooves more accurately and transform it from the physical format to the electrical format with higher precision. The result is a more detailed, more precise, more open and more engaging sound from the turntable. Also, since the cartridge is the very first component in the signal chain of a vinyl playing Hi-Fi, it is impossible to correct the errors made by the cartridge in later stages. All the details, nuances and dynamics that are lost with a low-quality cartridge, are lost forever.

This is why a cartridge upgrade is a very good place to start when you are looking to improve the sound of a vinyl playing stereo setup. Best is subjective. It is impossible to pick a cartridge that is best for everyone. It depends on personal preference, system and budget. But there are a handful of cartridges that I have found to be more popular, more loved and higher praised than the rest. When I did my research on the best cartridge upgrade for my turntables, there were a handful of cartridges that showed up over and over again.

Ortofon 2M Red 2. Denon DL 3. Ortofon 2M Blue 4. Ortofon 2M Bronze 6. Denon DLR 7. Grado Prestige Gold. It offers improved sound over most standard cartridges that are fitted to affordable and midrange turntables. It is a great first cartridge upgrade if you are on a budget. But it might not be your last. You want a balanced approach to the value of each component in the audio chain which yields maximum return. We always highly recommend using a good stand alone phono stage.

This is a huge approximation for budgeting purposes only. From a performance standpoint improving any one of the four items above will result in improvement. For other brands of turntable and tonearm, guidance will vary enormously depending on the brands involved. Things are too complex to provide concrete guidance, however taking an average we would advise:.

As described on our cartridge overview page, moving magnet cartridges each have their own musical character. Because of this opinions and recommendations vary widely. Its best to read about these before reaching any decision.

For this reason the best moving magnet cartridge choice will vary depending on the arm. This is not about a compliance mismatch but tonal imbalances which affect musicality and timing.

Compliance is not as significant as some folk make it out to be. Yes it does affect matters but is only one factor among many. We hear regularly of perfect compliance matches that mistrack and conversly of mismatches which track perfectly. There are also aspects of compliance which we feel are not properly understood which means the mathmatical models are flawed.

One would imagine that cartridges with low tracking force would result in less record wear. However this is not true as low tracking force can introduce instability to the tracking.