I’ve been running an Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue on my Stabi R for the past year (professionally installed using AnalogMagik) and regularly revel in its detail retrieval abilities. “Well worth the money” is a common internal refrain. However, this week I purchased a modestly-priced, used, “practice” cartridge (Hana SL Mk 1) to improve my setup skills to reduce the chances of ripping the cantilever off my next cartridge install - an Aidas Mammoth. The Hana has an easy-going sound - Cadillac vs. Lotus for the Etsuro - and isn’t as good at detail, but on meh-sounding recordings (think 80’s rock music) smoothing out the bumps definitely has sonic benefits, at least to my ears. I am pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the Hana is, even with my mediocre setup skills.
So this got me wondering what other modestly-priced LOMCs people use or have used that they’ve fallen in love with? On WBF we hear about a lot of +$10K cartridges, but what about sub-$1,500 cartridges? Which of those offer superior bang for the buck?
So this got me wondering what other modestly-priced LOMCs people use or have used that they’ve fallen in love with? On WBF we hear about a lot of +$10K cartridges, but what about sub-$1,500 cartridges? Which of those offer superior bang for the buck?