Best budget cartridges

[Howy]

Need advice on new cartridges please. Not bought any for ages. Budget is 50-150 for a pair. Can anyone suggest the best all round cartridges in this price range. Cheers

 

[Monty]

Ortofon Nightclub E:

I have the Mk1 version had mine for about 7-8 years now never had to buy new needles good sound & great for mixing,scratching & seeing where the needle is in the groove of the vinyl so you can see end of bars drops etc



There is a Mk2 version also which look very nice:

 

[Howy]

The Ortofon nightclub E would be great Monty, but they are over budget unfortunately :S

 

[Monty]

I bought mine years ago i forgot how much they cost :$

 

[Jiglo]

I've been using the Concorde Scratch for a few years now and I used to be really happy with them at first, but those stylus don't seem to last me a year before deteriorating badly and the stylus are pretty expensive to replace. They might not last too long because I occasionally knock them onto the slipmats when i'm packing gear up though, so it's hard for me to judge their durability. Never used a better cart for seeing where the needle is in the groove, as Monty says, and they're about as easy as it gets to mount onto a tonearm.

I've been testing Shure M44-7 carts the last few days and they have unbelievable anti skip properties, which is why most of the world's turntablists use them. I've tried everything to make them jump and they just won't budge from the grooves A bonus for me is they have a little attached flip-down stylus guard to stop me damaging the tips if I knock the tonearm onto the mats, but they're not supposed to be the most neutral sounding as they're designed to have a louder bass and treble signal, or so i've read. Seem great in use

Shure M44G's are supposed to be a good compromise between anti skip resistance and sound quality for the house DJ's though, but i'm not up to date on newer carts.

 

[Benny-Digital]

I've tried everything to make them jump and they just won't budge from the grooves A bonus for me is they have a little attached flip-down stylus guard to stop me damaging the tips if I knock the tonearm onto the mats

I love mine, and you can't go wrong with the replacement stylus for around 15 notes.

 

[djperkins]

Concorde ar a bit delicate as well..drop em on the slip mat at full whack and they're twisted.

 

[Simeon]

Ortofon Pro S series...both Concorde & OM version (plugged in Technics headshell)...amazing performance & great value for money...i've been using them for years.