Best value in a HO movig magnet $150-$200

Jim...The 2M Red has an elliptical stylus and the 2M blue has a nude elliptical stylus. Same engine and body.

You can start with the Red and replace the stylus assembly with the Blue and have the same thing as buying the Blue upfront. That's what I plan to do when I need to replace/upgrade from my Red.

The Bronze and Black allow the same thing. Both of these have an upgraded body and stylus shape over the Red/Blue series.

There is a seller that I found for a used 2M Bronze that has about 150 hours on it that the seller wants around $250 (it retails for around $425). If you PM me, I can give you the details, if you are interested. No relation to the seller, just passing on a great deal.

The red has a bonded elliptical stylus where a small diamond tip is fused onto a metal slug. This slug is then mounted to the cantilever.

The blue has a nude mounted elliptical stylus where a larger diamond has the opposite end to the tip fashioned into a shank that is directly mounted into a hole in the cantilever.

The advantage to nude mounting being the lower mass of the moving system being more responsive to fine detail.

At $200-ish, my nominees would be the Ortofon 2M Blue or the Grado Prestige Silver 1.

Virdian, Thanks for the advice, have you personally used either of the Nagaoka cartridge you mentioned?? I have two concerns about this brand. Is the cartridge shieled against hum?? the Rega P3-24 does not have a ground wire??.

Second, there is a host of OVERSEAS internet dealers on e-bay that sell the SAME cartridges at a variety of prices. Are they trustworthy, and how do you know you won't get a knock off of their brand??

Lastly, you stated that sound is "smooth".... and chucky. What do you MEAN by chunky. Thank you, Jim

Hi Jim, I routinely buy vacuum tubes, accessories, phono cartridges and various other goodies from overseas. Both Asia, Eastern and Western Europe. Knock wood, no problems at all so far, however I can't recommend a specific vendor for the Nagaokas.

Yes, they are sheilded and yes, the P3-24 does have a ground wire but it is tied to the shield of the left RCA jack. What induces hum in some cartridges with Rega turntables is the minimal sheilding and positioning of the of the motors interacting with cartridges that are, likewise, minimally shielded, ie Grado.

IMHO, there is no reason to knock off inexpensive cartridges. Making cartridges is complex. There are much better things to knock off. If you did want to do a cartridge a wood body Koetsu would be easier, and get you a whole lot more money than a plastic bodied moving iron.

The Nagaokas are full in the power region, the lower midrange, that's what I mean by "chunky".