Best Phono Cartridges: Under $2,000

This well-priced phono pickup from John Grado offers an even greater bargain than its classic and beloved predecessor from the 70s and 80s. No, you don’t get state-of-the-art resolution and neutrality, but you do get excellent tracking and a lush, transparent presentation with an especially rich, even tactile midrange and a chocolatey warmth and fullness on the bottom that make this pickup easy to recommend to anyone who listens mostly to vocal and instrumental music of a traditional kind, whether classical, pop, jazz, or folk. PS, 284

The swansong design of Ortofon’s former chief engineer Per Windfeld, the entry-level 2M Red uses an elliptical, the 2M Black a Shibata stylus. The Black’s greatest attribute is the way it parses the complexities of orchestral depth and dimension. In comparison, the 2M Red clocks in with a little drier sound, as if it’s making more of an effort in the upper treble. Still, this is one sophisticated and musical cartridge—for the price of a nice dinner for two. NG, 182

Judged according to the highest standards, PS found the VM540M acquitted itself astonishingly in every aspect of performance. Its only tonal anomaly is a smooth, mild rise beginning at 5kHz to a maximum of 4–5dB at 11kHz–12kHz, which in the listening is remarkably benign and might even pass unnoticed in many systems. PS, 284

Grado’s entry-level offering in the new Timbre Series is a little like going home again to a pre-digital age. With its midrange tonal beauty and unvarnished musicality, its warmer overall signature and rich midrange, this is classic Grado. There are still notes of dark chocolate in its voicing—a complex bittersweetness that favors highly resonant wooden instruments like cello and acoustic bass and winds like clarinet, oboe, and bassoon. The primary strength of the Opus3, however, is its resolution of timbral distinctions, its verdant naturalism, and its harmonic richness. Pure and simple, a celebration of LP playback. NG, 313

In 2004 the Shure corporation retired the seventh and last iteration of its by now legendary Shure V15 series, introduced in 1964, a moving-magnet design that established new standards for overall tonal neutrality, flat frequency response, and tracking ability. Such is its popularity among enthusiasts that the Japanese firm Jico markets replacement styli that actually improve upon the already outstanding original. For reviewer Paul Seydor, no other phono pickup, mc or mm, offers quite the combination of completely non-fatiguing, beautiful, natural sound without seriously compromising the liveliness, engagement, transparency, and involvement of the best mc’s, while still, after all these decades, reigning supreme in tracking ability. It has long been and will long remain one of his reference pickups. PS, 334

Despite nomenclature and pricing, these are essentially different versions of the same pickup, hence their being grouped together. The DL-103 is the base model, manufactured exactly the same way since its introduction in 1962—by hand. It also enjoys a longer life without modification than any other phono cartridge in the history of audio, while also being one of the most beloved audio products ever made. The DLA-220GS, marketed as a special edition to commemorate Denon’s 110^th anniversary, is merely a 103 installed in an exclusive silver-graphite universal headshell and boxed in a fancy leather case. The DL-103R is a 103 with 6N copper wire for the coils, a finer wire made from a purer grade of copper, the sonic result is a slightly reduced extreme top end for a fractionally darker presentation that is nevertheless very pleasing albeit not quite so accurate as the stock 103. Regardless of which version you buy, you will still get all the virtues that account for its 60-plus years of popularity. PS, 328

At $359 the Quintet Red (0.5mV) is on the low end of the price scale for moving-coil cartridges but it doesn’t sound like a cheapskate. It’s quick on transients, a sure-footed tracker, and a slam-dunk candidate for any thoughtful starter system. It drops some resolution and tonal purity at the frequency extremes and lacks some micro-information but retains a persuasive feel for the distinctive musicality of LP playback. NG, 244

The second-generation version of the Bluepoint Oyster—long considered a go-to choice among affordable, high-output moving-coil cartridges—the No. 2 offers improved resolution, superior three-dimensionality, richer and more potent bass, and smoother, less aggressive highs. A huge step up from entry-level cartridges. CM, 172

This moving-magnet phono pickup is the flagship of Audio-Technica’s VM line. Outfitted with a line-contact stylus, the VM760 in PS’s judgment acquitted itself astonishingly in every aspect of performance, including frequency response, tracking ability, transparency, and dynamic range. Its only tonal anomaly is a smooth, mild rise beginning at 5kHz that proves in the listening to be remarkably benign, might even pass unnoticed in many systems, and is easily correctable with treble tone-control. Intrinsically its performance is superb; factoring in price, it is a staggering cartridge. PS, 284

In a sea of $10,000-ish super cartridges, what’s a vinyl-playing audiophile with discriminating tastes to do? For that matter, what’s a sub-$999 budgeted audiophile to do? The $750 Hana SL is the gem of the Excel lineup and can easily fit any ’table/’arm combo that will accommodate a 0.5mV output. With the Hana SL, the user can also rest assured the cartridge will support the next ’table/’arm upgrade. It represents what any more costly cartridge should offer as a bare minimum—and plenty more. AJ, 270

The Quintet Series is a lineup of five low-to-mid-priced moving-coil cartridges that replaces the aging Rondo Series of mc’s. At the top rung is the 0.3mV Quintet Black, which is given the royal treatment with niceties like neodymium magnets, a nude Shibata stylus, and a boron cantilever. Sonically, the Quintet Black displays even neutrality across the tonal spectrum with glimmers of midrange warmth. It has both a light touch and a commanding sense of control. Low-level information is reproduced with great precision. NG, 244

The successor to the Maestro Wood, the Maestro V2 Ebony is an improvement in every way. With a higher 4.2mV output and an ultra-low-mass Micro HD stylus on a solid boron cantilever, the Ebony brings symphonic recordings to life, unifying each orchestral section into the greater whole. Low-level detail is speedily resolved. As musical as they come, NG thought the Maestro V2 Ebony should be required listening for moving-magnet and moving-coil fans alike. Co-winner of TAS’ 2013 Phono Cartridge of the Year Award. NG, 234

The Delos optimizes performance by properly orientating the magnetic circuits, signal coils, and core. With the cartridge at rest, asymmetrical dampers place the signal coils and core into a more upright angle vis-à-vis the magnetic circuit. With tracking force applied, the force of the stylus pushing on the LP causes the asymmetrical dampers to become symmetrical. An exceptionally quiet background is the most immediately striking aspect of this design. It is also very well balanced and notably coherent, natural, rich, and fast. WG, 206