What Cartridge Should I Use?

by James Leahy

There are two main cartridge types on the market today, both MM & MC.

The moving coil cartridge seems to be able to extract those elusive refinements tucked away in the groove of your record that elude most moving magnet designs. Of course, a moving coil cartridge has the disadvantage of not having a replaceable stylus, so it is important for manufacturers to fit a good one in the first place knowing that the customer will be less inclined to buy the cartridge in the first place unless it is significantly better than one with a detachable stylus. Whether it is a case of a good stylus “reaching the parts that other styli cannot reach” or that a fully integrated stylus/cantilever/coil assembly is inherently superior, a good moving coil cartridge is certainly a worthwhile upgrade for any vinyl enthusiast.

There are many brands of MC cartridges on the market but I prefer the Ortofon Jubilee for my tastes and subsequently use one on my personal rig. I have not found a CD player at any price able to beat the performance of this cartridge when coupled to the necessary table and phono stage. I would urge you to audition one today to see what it can do for your system. Check out the Sonic Evaluations of all the Ortofon Moving Coil range on my Ortofon MC page.

Contrary to other types of phono cartridges, the moving coil principle is not suited for mass production. Each of the four coils contains between 11 and 24 turns of wire, depending on model, and has to be wound by hand under
a microscope. The wire itself is much thinner than a human hair.

Think about this: if you play records and you have a marvelous turntable, a magnificent amplifier, great loudspeakers and a poor cartridge, the sound will only be as good as... the cartridge. Yet a cartridge is often chosen with much less care than the other components of a music system.

Music enthusiasts and high fidelity connoisseurs agree: the cartridge, is the key factor in the reproduction of music from records. After all, it makes the first and only contact with the record. Remember, information that is lost at this initial critical stage can NEVER be recovered further down the audio chain. Thus, cartridge quality determines sonic performance even before sound is amplified and played through your loudspeakers.
 

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