Hello!
I hope everyone is doing great and had a good start into 2022!
I have a Thorens TD320 with TP16 MKIII tonearm. It originally had an AKG P8ES SuperNova with VdH IIs needle. I didn't use the turntable for about 30 years and am now reviving it. The AKG needle broke so I am on the market for a good replacement.
I understand that the AKG P8ES was a great cartridge (not that I remember the sound) and that replacing it is difficult at a reasonable price point. In addition, even after restoring, I am not willing to pour money into the cartridge before knowing that everything is still working well (although the TD320 looks like new).
For the above reason, I would like to limit my budget to $250 with a hard cap. Preferably, to get started, I would like to be around $150. My understanding is that the TP16 MKIII has a mass of 7.5 grams and needs a high-compliant cartridge.
My music of choice is Classic Rock and Jazz.
I have researched this a bit and came up with the following options:
Nagaoka MP-110 - $149
Goldring E3 - $169
Ortofon 2M Red - $125
------rather not go here unless this would be an AHA moment compared to the above-----
Ortofon 2M Blue - $239
Audio-Technica VM540ML - $249
Any advice and feedback is greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Oliver
I hope everyone is doing great and had a good start into 2022!
I have a Thorens TD320 with TP16 MKIII tonearm. It originally had an AKG P8ES SuperNova with VdH IIs needle. I didn't use the turntable for about 30 years and am now reviving it. The AKG needle broke so I am on the market for a good replacement.
I understand that the AKG P8ES was a great cartridge (not that I remember the sound) and that replacing it is difficult at a reasonable price point. In addition, even after restoring, I am not willing to pour money into the cartridge before knowing that everything is still working well (although the TD320 looks like new).
For the above reason, I would like to limit my budget to $250 with a hard cap. Preferably, to get started, I would like to be around $150. My understanding is that the TP16 MKIII has a mass of 7.5 grams and needs a high-compliant cartridge.
My music of choice is Classic Rock and Jazz.
I have researched this a bit and came up with the following options:
Nagaoka MP-110 - $149
Goldring E3 - $169
Ortofon 2M Red - $125
------rather not go here unless this would be an AHA moment compared to the above-----
Ortofon 2M Blue - $239
Audio-Technica VM540ML - $249
Any advice and feedback is greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Oliver