A Good "P" Mount Cartridge, under $100..
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iLUVanalog
Addicted Member
I am getting a lot of "P" mount TT 's lately, and they sound really good..
Can anyone recommend a Good "P" mount cartridge under $100?
Thanks,
John.
I recommend Ortofon p-mounts....
OMP-5E
Model 305
Model 310
Model 320
All of the above p-mounts are under $100 at www.lpgear.com
Ortofon also has the X1-MCP (moving-coil p-mount) for $170.
You can also try one of the Grado p-mounts.
Can't go wrong with any of these.
You can get an X1-MCP for $70 shipped from Hong Kong on eBay. Several of us have bought from the guy with no problems.
wordherder62
AK Member
I would also recommend looking at Grado.
Fred Longworth
audio fanatic
Yes, a Grado Prestige series RED can be had for less than $100 in p-mount format.
Fred
Fred
SA-708
Appalachian-American
These days it can be hard to spend more than $100 for a current-production p-mount cartridge. I think only some of the Grados are above that price point.
There's a seller from Hong Kong on eBay selling the Ortofon X1-MCP cartridge (a high output moving coil) for $70 with minimal shipping to the states. I'm still breaking mine in, but its a good deal (about half the common pricing) on a good cartridge.
Without getting into new-old-stock cartridges (and there are still some bargains to be found there), the current p-mount options seem to be:
Shure: M92E (low end, but can use the N97xE stylus)
Stanton: L720EE (p-mount version of the venerable 500)
AT: 7 models with the same body
Ortofon: OMP5E & OMP10, plus the X1-MCP mentioned above
Grado: 6 models in the Prestige series, with the Black and Green below $100
There's a seller from Hong Kong on eBay selling the Ortofon X1-MCP cartridge (a high output moving coil) for $70 with minimal shipping to the states. I'm still breaking mine in, but its a good deal (about half the common pricing) on a good cartridge.
Without getting into new-old-stock cartridges (and there are still some bargains to be found there), the current p-mount options seem to be:
Shure: M92E (low end, but can use the N97xE stylus)
Stanton: L720EE (p-mount version of the venerable 500)
AT: 7 models with the same body
Ortofon: OMP5E & OMP10, plus the X1-MCP mentioned above
Grado: 6 models in the Prestige series, with the Black and Green below $100
hakaplan
Needs professional help
Well actually, they're not the best choices if the tt has tracking force factory set at 1.25g. The OMP5E requires 1.75g. The 305, 310 and 320 require 1.5g. The X1-MCP is the only one that tracks at a recommended 1.25g.
hakaplan
Needs professional help
Again, unless the tonearm has adjustable tracking force, the only models that track at 1.25g are the Stanton and the Shure. You can't use the N97xE stylus if the TF isn't adjustable, because it is too heavy. You have to use a stylus that is the same weight as the original M92E, so the best choice would be the N110HE from JICO. For the same price as the N97xE you get a hyperelliptical stylus. And in fact, I think for a total of around $75, that is the best choice of all the ones offered.
SA-708
Appalachian-American
One option would be the Digitrac 200NE that's been discussed so much here in this forum. There's an online retailer selling them for $20 each, but not all of them work out of the box. I bought three, and got two that work and a spare stylus. Its a bargain price for a nice nude elliptical cartridge.
Another option would be to buy an AudioTechnica AT-92ECD off eBay for ~$23.00 and upgrade to a JICO stylus. I think turntableneedles.com sells this cartridge already upgraded to an aftermarket Shibata stylus for $100ish.
I think both of these are close to the right weight, as far as correct tracking force on a p-mount arm that lacks adjustment.
Another option would be to buy an AudioTechnica AT-92ECD off eBay for ~$23.00 and upgrade to a JICO stylus. I think turntableneedles.com sells this cartridge already upgraded to an aftermarket Shibata stylus for $100ish.
I think both of these are close to the right weight, as far as correct tracking force on a p-mount arm that lacks adjustment.
hakaplan
Needs professional help
Yes, indeed. Actually with a .3 x .7 elliptical the AT-92ECD is respectable as it is. If you were going to upgrade to the lpgear Shibata, you could just buy the cheaper AT-90 and save a few bucks. Same body.
I tried the Digitracs from that guy and yes, I got two duds out of two ordered. The replacements worked, although I wasn't as impressed as others seem to be. But yes, it conforms to T4P standards.
If you can find a good Digitrac body with a trashed or worn-out stylus, that 200NE deal is a great way to upgrade it. My resulting 280NE sounds wonderful.
wushuliu
Super Member
Don't know about the 200 SE, but I just got the Digitrac 300SE P-mount (w/adapter) from turnablesneedles
for my YP-801BL. 'Nude Super Hyperelliptical'. Granted this is only the third cartridge I've tried, but it's miles ahead of the AT92ECD and the LP Gear Hyperelliptical ($75), which was a great upgrade.
With the 300SE I feel like I'm finally hearing vinyl for the first time. Heaven. Before I couldn't understand what could possible be so good about a cartridge that you would pay out crazy benjamins.
I think I'm starting to understand now.
And it's only $95!
Barring that, I second Trower on the LP Gear Cartridge.
We bought a Sony PS 7 that had an AT31 ? in it. It was rather thin sounding. So we bought an Ortofon, something like an OM20; had the better stylus. The highs & mids were clean, but bass was MIA. Sold it off to an Ortofon fan. Went to turntableneedles.com and found a Shure M96P. I think they're selling off old stock, but I just checked & they show in stock. It has a full, well rounded sound. No superlatives, but at least it didn't sound like a whole segment of the spectrum had left for lunch. Recorded a Nat KIng Cole collection with it, thought it worked real well on that.
wordherder62
AK Member
I am getting a lot of "P" mount TT 's lately, and they sound really good..
Can anyone recommend a Good "P" mount cartridge under $100?
Thanks,
John.
To add to info you'll see here. I can clearly see this is one of the Technics tables that has the anti-skate, which leads me to believe you can also adjust VTF. This is noted as an issue in some of these posts and it's hard to tell clearly from your photo. But, if it does have VTF adjustment and anti-skate adjustments on it, you have a wider range of cartridges open to you as you can bump up to the 1.5 or 1.75 gram tracking forces some of the cartridges discussed here will be looking for. As Hal notes, that could be critical to how the cartridge performs in your machine. I have a similar Technics turntable that I gave to my son and it performs beautifully with an Ortofon cartridge in and the tracking force is set a little above 1.5 grams. So, you might have the wider range of options mentioned in here available to you. And, that being the case, I can say the Ortofon could be a great choice for you and I'll also stick with my original votes for Grado's lower-priced cartridges such as the Black and Green.
Happy listening.
Richard
iLUVanalog
Addicted Member
iLUVanalog
Addicted Member
i have a technics pmount tt with no anti skating adjustment and i am still able to adjust the vtf. there is a screw in the back end of the arm that moves the counterweight forward or backward depending on which way you turn the screw and that is how i adjust the vtf. of course, i am very mindful of how much adjustment to the vtf i make and have my digital vtf gauge handy to make sure i don't go over or under the limits.
hakaplan
Needs professional help
Indeed. I should have left out "They're not the best choices" --that's only my opinion.
