The Audiophilia team's favourite phono cartridges. All styles and budgets.
Vložit
- čas přidán 11. 01. 2024
- www.audiophilia.com
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2...
Thanks for watching. Please like & subscribe. - Zábava
17:45 the Hana is excellent
I would say that the Ortofon 2m Red is the beginner’s cartridge, and that someone should start with that. The Red still has good sound, and there are people who like and are OK with the sound of it. There’s no reason to spend more money if you’re OK with the Red. In fact, when I upgraded to the Red from the Audio Technica AT95E, I was blown away by the sound difference. I ran the Red for quite some time before I took the plunge and upgraded to the Blue.
But I had one experience that probably doesn’t match what others have experienced. I upgraded from the Blue to the Bronze. Yes, there was some improvement in sound. But nothing close to the difference between the Red and the Blue. I didn’t feel that it was worth the whopping $220 price difference. So I saved my money and went back to the Blue. And I’ve stayed there ever since.
I realize that the uber-audiophiles consider what I’ve just said akin to blasphemy. I consider myself an audiophile, so I get at least some of their point. But it’s more important to get something you’re happy with and can live with (much less afford) than it is to get the latest, greatest and highest on the food chain.
So if the uber-audiophiles consider me blasphemous and call me all sorts of names, let them. As I laugh at their comments, I’ll be happily listening to my Ortofon Blue (and not have to take out a loan because I overspent on my cartridge that impresses no one)!!!
I chose the Ortofon 2M Red for the SME arm on my Transcriptor Hydraulic when I'd finished its rebuild, I was so impressed right out of the box that I upgraded to a 2M Blue stylus the next day. I was then so impressed by the Blue that the next day I swallowed a lump and invested in the 2M Black cartridge, I have to say it was worth every penny.
In my experience, you can’t go wrong the Ortofon. A wonderful legacy analog company. I remember reviewing their Cadenza Red. Great value. The Blue is crazy value.
I really appreciate your videos. You cover all price points
Thank so much, John. Carts can be crazy money so a value cart that plays above its price level for your favourite music are godsends.
It’s not easy to make a great MC cart, but a $15K cart should be brilliant. Making a sub $1000 cart that plays well on all music, now that’s the grail.
I'm the happy and original owner of a mint condition Yamaha PF-1000 turntable. I bought it new in 1984 for $350.00, it was then Yamaha's flagship turntable. But get this it's specs such as wow and flutter are notably superior to Yamaha's current flagship turntable, which sells for $8,000. And that's the case with a number of other expensive turntables.
It has a low mass tonearm and needs a medium-high compliance cartridge. Today, low compliance cartridges are the norm. Fortunately, Ortofon, Music Hall and Soundsmith still make med-high compliance cartridges. There may well be a few others that I haven't run across yet.
Hello Audiophilia. Thank you very much for your inspiring videos - it's wonderful to watch.
Godspeed
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏
Many thanks for this great video!
You are most welcome. Thank you for the kind words.
One thing to add... if you get the Ortofon red and then decide to upgrade to blue ( although I think the red sounds real nice) .. just buy the blue stylus and do the quick slide-out and slide-in .. keep the red for those times when you are playing older records in not-so-good condition... so your blue doesn't have to get that usage.
Great idea 👍
@@AudiophiliaChannel thanks.. i'm eventually going to get a blue stylus fro mine, meanwhile i enjoy the red.
Thanks for your work on this video. I would be curious about your experience/perspective on re-tipping.
You are most welcome.
Wary, very wary. Luckily, I’ve never been in that position. But retipping is a good cost savings, generally.
If I had to do it, I’d send it to the manufacturer or the wizard of retipping, Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith.
Very interesting. Would love to see this video’s corollary, as you hinted at the end, of phono preamps.
We’ll be getting to those. So important. Thx, Dan
Thanks for the video, you have some heavy hitters there. For high-end on a more sensible budget have you ever reviewed the Audio-Technica Art 9? I've been using it for several years now and find it to be excellent in all areas of reproduction, ticking all audiophile boxes and being balanced, smooth and just real. It's in a VPI Prime going into an iconAudio PS3 all-tube phono. But, I could never compare it to mega-buck cartridges. I don't have a large library of mono pressings but can confirm that the AT33 Mono is excellent!
Thx for the great info. Not heard the Art 9 but I hear amazing things about AT’s top carts. Ian is finishing up his review of the AT mono. Should be published March 8. Cheers, Anthony
This is excellent information. I have a question. Would you spend ~3000.00 on a cart and pre-amp combo or the DS Audio Optical combo? Sorry if this seems like an odd question, but I already have a ~1800.00 Cart/phono combo I enjoy, and I am looking at setting up another table.
I’ve never heard the DS Optical. Sorry.
Great selection of cartridges! Man, have they gotten expensive?! The Umami has gone up since you made this. The only one that I found for under $2000 was an open box model. 🤦🏻♂️ Thanks for putting this together.
Thx for the kind words.
We published our (the first) Phasemation PP-2000 review and they raised the price 2K! :(
At the end you talked about “maxing out your tonearm”. Maybe you already have a video on this topic, but I would be very interested in understanding tonearm compliance, limitations, and cartridge matching.
That’s a good idea. My comment was simply with all things being equal, don’t be scared to put a good cartridge even on a inexpensive arm like a Rega or Pro-ject.
how about the Gold Note Vasari Red Phono Cartridge ?
Thanks for an interesting overview! I think it is difficult to really conclude my preference when only upgrading once the stylus is worn, or broken, but Grado led me to MI, which led me to Soundsmith and now I’m stuck in the spending money ladder on their products 😬 For the SL-12 in the office I have dialled in on very engaging AT’s; 120, 540…
Peter Ledermann makes a great product. Enjoy.
Thanks for putting a video together on higher end carts. I would have appreciated a bit more comparisons to other carts in similar price range and why you think the chosen ones are the best bang for buck. I would think that the $2-3K is the most interesting "realistic" budget point for many audiophiles. So that range may deserve particular expansion. I haven't heard too many carts, (Ortofon 2m red blue black, SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC*) where the last is my current and preferred one. I am curious about others like the Apheta 3 and the Hana. My pie in the sky cart is the Soundsmith strain gauge ($8K with dedicated phono stage). I love different approaches to cart designs.
The comment on phono stages was a bit buried at the end and deserves emphasis and consideration.
We can’t comment to our readers and viewers regarding a comparison unless we have done exhaustive listening. As I said, a phono stage video is for another video. We’ll plan one. Thx
no soundsmith?
My favorite cartridge was an 80's vintage Boston Acoustic MC 200. Unfortunately, the stylus was accidentally broken off; and it is no longer made.
I thought you stated Line contact was your favorite?
Just wondering why, and how you feel vs micro line stylist?
It is my favourite, simply because I’ve had so much good luck with them. Not sure about microline. They all have their strengths-it’s how the manufacturer/designer implements them.
I’ve got an Umami Blue on an Avid Acutus table with a Kuzma 4 point 9”. It’s my favorite cartridge I’ve heard in my system, except for the Avid Reference Ruby which is triple the cost of the Hana.
Nothing but love for the Hana Blue. Red’s getting raves, too.
Acutus 🙇♂️
Have you ever reviewed the My Sonic Lab Signature Platinum MC cartridge?
No we haven’t. They look intriguing, though.
@@AudiophiliaChannel I plan on getting it. I think it is one of the best out there.
Are there any Grado cartridges that sound as good or better than the Ortofon 2m Blue or Goldring e3?
I like the idea of buying from a domestic US manufacturer if possible.
Grado makes excellent carts but use moving iron I believe. Best check with Grado for compatibility. One of our writers swears by Grado.
Dynavector?
Nice list! Of the one's you showed, I only have one, the Allnic Rose. But that one is giving me trouble with sibilants on many records, so I actually prefer my Hana ML or Ortofon Cadenza red which are both great value for money I think.
Thank you. Interesting how folks have different experiences with the same carts. Did the Rose act up well after u purchased it? Anything change while you’ve hard the cart-‘table, arm, phonostage?
@@AudiophiliaChannel The Rose was like that from the start. The turntable (Dr. Feickert Woodpecker) and Ortofon tonearm is fine with my other cartridges. Phonostage is pearl 2, tried 100 and 150 ohm loading but no change on the sibilants issue. It's a pity since the Rose sounds great on non-vocal music, but gets more or less sibilants on many vocal records. I can clearly detect it has some qualities over my other cartridges in areas like detail and timbre. I was very tempted on an offer on the Umami blue, but I was just a little too late on the trigger, regretting that :-)
Goldring?
O dynavector?
I have a broken Hana ML, Sumiko Amethyst, Grace F9 Rudy Cantilver hyper Oliptical stylus
You must load those old Aphetas way down if your phono preamp allows it, to 50 or 30 Ohms.
so, which is the best one ?
I’m very fond of my reference, Phasemation PP-2000.
@@AudiophiliaChannel glad to know !
I started with an Ortofon Red and it nearly put me off vinyl for life as CD sounded better. Fortunately I discovered the AT VM range and I've not looked back since. Why do you not mention the AT cartridges? They are ubiquitous, easily upgraded, generally compatible to give very good sound and great value for money.
We do, several times. And one used as reference by one of our writers.
I am getting my Hanna ML with a boron Cantilver and Micro Ridge stylus for $500 US fund Andy Kim in Sacramento CA
If you are able to, you should try out the Lyra Atlas Lambda SL cartridge. Last year, I compared 3 different cartridges on top spec Linn Sondek LP12 setups (with my Zesto Andros Deluxe 2 tube phono stage). These were the $7000 Linn Exstatik cartridge, the $9000 Lyra Etna cartridge, and the $13000 Lyra Atlas Lambda SL cartridge. I listened to a number of different style tracks using each cartridge (in the above order). Within the first track with the Atlas, I knew I would order that cartridge. The different was night and day, where it seemed like we were using a totally different class of system. The noise level dropped through the floor, and became extremely holographic. I then listened to the rest of the tracks to confirm my decision. I just couldn't believe how much of a difference in sound quality existed between cartridges at this price point, if one assumes the idea of diminishing returns.
Love Lyra carts. Etna ❤️
2:08 the 2M Red is for me the worst buy on a cartridge, it sounds awful with big IGD