The Audiophilia team's favourite phono cartridges. All styles and budgets.

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[@7JANEWAY]

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.

[@donk1822]

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.

[@johnkreutz3207]

I really appreciate your videos. You cover all price points

[@Dakora]

Hello Audiophilia. Thank you very much for your inspiring videos - it's wonderful to watch.

[@geoffreydebrito2653]

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.

[@g.fortin3228]

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.

[@AdiMaco]

Many thanks for this great video!

[@aitchr8770]

I use an Ortofon TA-210 so I can easily swap cartridges for each situation. I have the Orto 2M Mono you put up but when it was supplied ready mounted - so only VTF requires changing from my SPU - GME MC cartridge - and I second your reviewers choice on this cart. Of course, if you play mono many of those are old enough to not be RIAA. So I got the MM because I use the Graham Slee Jazz Club to play those old curves especially Decca FFRR - makes a massive difference - I have a 2m Blue and it is great with poorer condition records and 45's which I use it for.

[@jdigioia1130]

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.

[@dannyfannyfoodle]

Very interesting. Would love to see this video’s corollary, as you hinted at the end, of phono preamps.

[@danielgeiger7739]

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.

[@andreasmoller6550]

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…

[@dannyfannyfoodle]

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.

[@hugoarbucias5380]

how about the Gold Note Vasari Red Phono Cartridge ?

[@ThresholdZhor]

17:45

[@jmal4368]

Thanks for your work on this video. I would be curious about your experience/perspective on re-tipping.

[@ChrisMag100]

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.

[@mtacoustic1]

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.

[@gaborozorai3714]

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!

[@stevenichols5708]

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.