Cartridge Upgrade Help MMF-2.2

[TeresofBlood]

Hello everyone. I'm looking to upgrade from the Music Hall tracker on my MMF-2.2. Stupidly, when I made the move to vinyl, I didn't know a whole lot. I purchased a preamp that can only handle moving magnet cartridges. There are so many cartridges out there, I don't even know where to begin. I'm also doing 24bit/192khz analogue2digital needle drops, so I need something of fairly high quality. Listening and comparing cartridges isn't really an option.

I don't want to spend more than $500. Ideally, I don't want to spend more than $350, but if it means quality I'm willing to push it up to $500. Any help is truly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

ADDED: My current setup:

-MMF-2.2 w/ Music Hall Tracker
-Creek OBH-18 preamp
-Grado Headphone Amp
-Grado 325i cans

[richteer]

I think the Sumiko Blue Point Special is within your price range (at the upper end). Although I've not heard it myself, it does have a pretty good rep.

[naturephoto1]

You may wish to consider some of the Soundsmith Cartridges available from Soundsmith directly.

http://www.sound-smith.com/cartridges/index.html#newer

Here are some to consider under the Moving Iron Category:

Acrylic Body

SMMC2 - $579.95
SMMC3 - $299.95

Wood Body

Boheme - $699.99
Carmen - $399.95

Rich

[FreddieFerric]

All of the suggestions thus far are good ones. Unfortunately in today's market you're not going to have the opportunity to audition them before you make your choice. I would say that with a budget of $500 you are setting yourself up to find an excellent MM cartridge. This Audio Technica also enjoys a very good reputation in the MM design.

http://www.jr.com/audio-technica/pe/AT_AT150MLX/

[TeresofBlood]

I'm kicking myself so hard for getting a preamp that only supports moving magnet. I didn't know at the time that higher end carts are moving coil. I'm encountering a lot of "moving iron" in my research. As far as I can tell, these are different types of MM carts. Am I correct?

I'm looking at several different carts based on reading reviews and your recommendations:

-Audio Technica 150MLX

-Ortofon 2m Bronze

-Grado Reference Platinum 1

-Soundsmith Carmen

I'm going to do WAY more research before making a purchase. Plus, I'm curious to see what other recommendations might come my way. Thanks again for all the help.

ADDED: The specs on my preamp say that it works best with carts that output between 2.5mV and 5mV. The Soundsmith is 2.12mV. I don't know enough about this stuff to take that chance. All of the other carts posted above meet the specs of my turntable/tonearm and my preamp. I may, however need to upgrade my counterweight.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by TeresofBlood

I'm kicking myself so hard for getting a preamp that only supports moving magnet. I didn't know at the time that higher end carts are moving coil. I'm encountering a lot of "moving iron" in my research. As far as I can tell, these are different types of MM carts. Am I correct?

I'm looking at several different carts based on reading reviews and your recommendations:

-Audio Technica 150MLX

-Ortofon 2m Bronze

-Grado Reference Platinum 1

-Soundsmith Carmen

I'm going to do WAY more research before making a purchase. Plus, I'm curious to see what other recommendations might come my way. Thanks again for all the help.

ADDED: The specs on my preamp say that it works best with carts that output between 2.5mV and 5mV. The Soundsmith is 2.12mV. I don't know enough about this stuff to take that chance. All of the other carts posted above meet the specs of my turntable/tonearm and my preamp. I may, however need to upgrade my counterweight.

MM and Moving Iron Cartridges are interchangeable for work with your Phono Preamp. There are some very fine and expensive MM and Moving Iron Cartridges as well as MC available. But, you can not use the MC cartridges with your Phono Preamp.

The Soundsmith Carmen may not have enough output to best match your Phono Preamp then. Perhaps you should consider one of the other recommendations instead. But a phone call to Soundsmith can not hurt to discuss the matter with them.

Rich

[Johnny Vinyl]

Rich is indeed correct in that the MM and MI cartridges are interchangeable. I discovered this as I purchased the Grado Reference Platinum (MI cartridge) and needed to know what setting to use on my phono stage.

I can tell you that the Grade Reference Platinum comes with a very good reputation and has received some significant praise in several audio reviews. I was very pleased with my decision to purchase this cartridge. There is more to it than that though, but I need to back up a few years for that explanantion.

Back in the mid-eighties I was looking for a cartridge for my now (RIP) defunct Revolver Rebel Red TT (a TT I might add that the MusicHall TT's technically got their start from). At the time I had a Shure V15 Type III cartridge which served me well, but I wanted something else. I ended up purchasing a Sumiko Blue Point Special Nude Eliptical cartridge and changed it within a week to a Grado 8MZ. That is NOT to say the Sumiko wasn't a fine performer, but for my ears I felt it lacked a lot of depth. The highs were superb, but a little too much for my liking. The Grado 8MZ was a little more laid-back and although not as fluid in the high end, it suited my purpose and extracted the kind of sound I was looking for. End of story.

That is basically why I choose a Grado catridge again, and the Reference Platinum hasn't let me down. It comes highly recommended from personal experience.

John

[TeresofBlood]

I am leaning toward the Grado because I own some great Grado products already, but I'm seriously looking at the others as well. I'm not terribly tech savvy when it comes to audio specs. I will do some reading and hopefully that will aid my decision.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by TeresofBlood

I am leaning toward the Grado because I own some great Grado products already, but I'm seriously looking at the others as well. I'm not terribly tech savvy when it comes to audio specs. I will do some reading and hopefully that will aid my decision.

Always a good decision. Reviews for these levels of cartridges should be fairly abundant. It's a shame that they are almost impossible to audition. Good luck and let us know what you end with and what you think of it.

John