Phono Cartridges - Your favorites and least favorites?

HiFi Guy said:
I paid $525 for a Reference3 with 270 documented hours FWIW.

I’m not a fan of the 1 series. The 2 series and newer sound and track better.
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Hell of a deal! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Just saw a Hana sl pop for under $500. Don’t remember if you’ve had exp with the Hana or not. What are your thoughts on it?
 
r0ck33 said:
Hell of a deal! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Just saw a Hana sl pop for under $500. Don’t remember if you’ve had exp with the Hana or not. What are your thoughts on it?
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Own one. Very good cart, just take care with set up (as always). But was $500 for a new or very low hour one, they’re only $750 new?
 
Just chiming in- the Le Son LS-10 Mk II continues to impress. I’ve go no wish to try anything else. Except….

Le Son is coming out with a high output MC optimized for the Technics 1200. Boron nitrite cantilever and a line contact stylus. $400 delivered.

They’ll ship one for evaluation if there’s interest.
 
I was wondering if someone could help with suggested loading on a Grado Timbre Reference 3 low output. Pass XP-17 phono stage. The Pass gives me both 10k and 47k Ohm and gain of 56/66/76 dB.

I think 10,000 Ohms and 56 dB is a good starting place, but I wanted to see what others with more experience with Grado were using?

I don’t have the cart yet, Upscale is mounting it on my VPI arm, so it should hopefully be here this weekend. I’m excited and figured I’d set up the Pass while I’m waiting.

Thanks!
 
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SnowmaNick said:
I was wondering if someone could help with suggested loading on a Grado Timbre Reference 3 low output. Pass XP-17 phono stage. The Pass gives me both 10k and 47k Ohm and gain of 56/66/76 dB.

I think 10,000 Ohms and 56 dB is a good starting place, but I wanted to see what others with more experience with Grado were using?

I don’t have the cart yet, Upscale is mounting it on my VPI arm, so it should hopefully be here this weekend. I’m excited and figured I’d set up the Pass while I’m waiting.

Thanks!
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I’d have probably tried 10k loading if that were an option for me. 56 dB gain is what you want.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I’d have probably tried 10k loading if that were an option for me. 56 dB gain is what you want.
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Thank you. It’s always nice to get confirmation from an expert. Your comments on Grado’s were part of why I bought one. I’ve always been interested in their carts as I love their headphones but haven’t pulled the trigger until now.
 
Vinyl&Kicks86 said:
could anyone help me with this question a lot of the modern Audio Technica carts/stylus are compatible/interchangeable.if i was to swap a stylus from one cart to another cart with a different tracking force.should i set to the tracking force of the old cart that the stylus originally came with or the tf of the cart it is now on.hopefully this question makes some sense and doesn't sound really dumb thanks for any help.
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Are the cartridge and stylus from the same series?

For example is are the both 95 but maybe a change from E to ML or SH?

If that’s the case the generator bit that remains is functionally identical and the difference would be caused by the stylus profile and so I’d use the tracking force quoted with the stylus if they are different.
 
Vinyl&Kicks86 said:
to add more context i want place a AT-VMN95ML stylus on a AT-XP5 cart would there be any issues in doing this?
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I honestly don’t know. I’m not aware of that DJ cart being either compatible or not with the 95 styli. It might be something worth exploring maybe somewhere more DJ focused where they come across that cart a bit more! Sorry!
 
upon further quick research via amazon details under each cart was able to gather this info.The electromagnetic engine-body of XP-Series, is fully compatible with all replacement styli of VM95 Series and will deliver more output voltage than VM95 Series cartridge.The AT-XP5 has a tracking force of 2 to 4 grams.Note that typical tracking force when using XP Series styli is three grams as opposed to two grams for VM95 Series styli.so it seems going to be good to set AT-VMN95ML stylus on a AT-XP5 cart at the 2.0 g standard.
 
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Ghost said:
A man of fine taste! Did the Opus not sit right with the system for you?
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Not at all. I just couldn’t pass up the deal I got on the Hana so decided to see how good it was. The Opus is great. So far, I like the Hana but need to put a few more hours in her before I come to a final conclusion. Worst case, I should be able to easily get back what I have in her but I don’t think I’ll need to.
 
I’ve got a Nagaoka MP-300 that’s getting a little long in the tooth - time for a stylus swap soon. So do I go back to the elliptical MP-300 stylus or upgrade to the MP-500 line contact stylus? Anyone heard both?

I’ve liked the Hana SL, Hana ML and the 2M Bronze in the past, so I’m leaning toward the MP-500, but the MP-300 has been highly satisfying, too.
 
Angsty said:
I’ve got a Nagaoka MP-300 that’s getting a little long in the tooth - time for a stylus swap soon. So do I go back to the elliptical MP-300 stylus or upgrade to the MP-500 line contact stylus? Anyone heard both?

I’ve liked the Hana SL, Hana ML and the 2M Bronze in the past, so I’m leaning toward the MP-500, but the MP-300 has been highly satisfying, too.
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How much to replace the stylus?
 
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