High-end cartridge on a mid-fi turntable. Why not?

[Dr Tinear]

Good advice about replacing with quality stylus. If you want a new p-mount cart which hasn’t been mentioned is the Grado which is available in p-mount. Play it awhile then upgrade the stylus to an 8MZ or higher. I did this for my daughters p-mount Technics belt drive and it plays a treat with her antique NAD and Mirage bookshelves. Just another thought. YMMV

Let me offer a big +1 on this recommendation. I have a slightly earlier Technics deck than the OP's 'table -- an SL-230 from the late 1970s with the 1/2" cartridge mount -- with a Van Alstine Longhorn Grado Green in the headshell. The sonic improvement I heard when I upgraded the stylus to an 8MZ was not subtle.

 

[Chubba]

I put a new Goldring Eroica low mc on a Dual 604 And loved the sound for a few years.

 

[Grenadeslio]

Let me offer a big +1 on this recommendation. I have a slightly earlier Technics deck than the OP's 'table -- an SL-230 from the late 1970s with the 1/2" cartridge mount -- with a Van Alstine Longhorn Grado Green in the headshell. The sonic improvement I heard when I upgraded the stylus to an 8MZ was not subtle.

Have the 8MZ mounted on a Prestige Blue, tried this as a replacement for my damaged Grado Platinum, great setup but alas it left a bit on the table in direct comparison. Replaced with a Grace F-8L10' Advanced Luminal Trace 10th anniversary edition cartridge and I no longer missed the Platinum.

This is not to knock the 8MZ, and if able to fit this to their PMount cartridge then by all means go for it, I likes me some Grado.

 

[Nikkotopia]

Great thread, since I just picked up a Technics SL-D93, which from what I have found is the SL-DD33 without the quartz feedback speed loop. So since mine is a lesser model I need to be even more careful not to over buy an improved cartridge and stylus for. This SL-D93 came with a Stanton L500AL. I have no Idea what the stylus is, but from what I have read about the cartridge/stylus it may be more oriented to durability than SQ. The TT appears to be in very good condition on the outside and not looking like it had much hard use. I played my original Beatles Abbey Road on it and everything sounded good through some so-so headphones, so I'll try it on my main system soon. Based on this thread it seems like I would not want to go beyond $200, without the diminishing returns kicking in, but maybe I don't need to do that if the Stanton is in good shape?