For what it's worth, I checked with my friend who has the TX2. He's using the MMC4 and said he ordered it through a link on the B&O website.
As far as the average prices on carts, I don't like to say--you can spend anywhere from $40 to over $10,000 on one. Right now I'm using a Clearaudio cart that I bought for maybe $280, and based on my experience with other inexpensive carts, it is a good start to the "high end" sound. The Shure M97Xe is a good one for about $100--tracks well, sounds clean, and the price is right. Generally, I'd rather have a ch3eap cart on a great table/arm than a very fancy cart on a poor table. I used the same Clearaudio on my old AR/Linn setup as I do on my current Michell/Origin Live setup, and the sonic difference is, of course, enormous even though I'd be perfectly jsutified in putting a much better cart on. As another example, I heard a VPI mkIII through Levinson amps and a $16K pair of B&W speakers; the VPI was set up with an inexpensive RB300 and $40 Grado cart...needless to say it still sounded quite nice ;)
One thing to consider though--I hear the the B&O carts are proprietary. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I never really studied my friend's too carefully...
As far as the average prices on carts, I don't like to say--you can spend anywhere from $40 to over $10,000 on one. Right now I'm using a Clearaudio cart that I bought for maybe $280, and based on my experience with other inexpensive carts, it is a good start to the "high end" sound. The Shure M97Xe is a good one for about $100--tracks well, sounds clean, and the price is right. Generally, I'd rather have a ch3eap cart on a great table/arm than a very fancy cart on a poor table. I used the same Clearaudio on my old AR/Linn setup as I do on my current Michell/Origin Live setup, and the sonic difference is, of course, enormous even though I'd be perfectly jsutified in putting a much better cart on. As another example, I heard a VPI mkIII through Levinson amps and a $16K pair of B&W speakers; the VPI was set up with an inexpensive RB300 and $40 Grado cart...needless to say it still sounded quite nice ;)
One thing to consider though--I hear the the B&O carts are proprietary. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I never really studied my friend's too carefully...