Pickup Cartridges
The pickup is where it all starts, and can be a difficult purchase, especially when you realise that the things have, relatively speaking, a limited lifespan compared with the other components in a system. There are two basic varieties of the beast, MM (moving magnet) and MC (moving coil) - please see the bottom of the page for a brief explanation.
The following list contains most of our favourites, but is by no means exhaustive. They are, though, the ones we tend to keep on demonstration, and, in the case of the lower priced models, in stock too.
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Rega All Rega's are MMs, and tend to be a standard fitment to Rega turntables and a lot of other affordable decks too. They are unusual in having fixed, integrated, stylus assemblies, just like MCs, for rigidity. Good value, and clean and dynamic sounding. Music retains it's pace with these designs. Bias2 GBP 55.00 |
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Philips AG3306 Dutch giant Philips, better known for just about everything else in the field of consumer electronics, and, of course, shavers, also produced this lovely integrated pickup/headshell which plugs into the matching pickup arm. Using a piezo electric generator, it interfaces easily with a high impedance line level input. Plays LPs on one side, or 78s if turned over. GBP Please don't enquire |
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Clearaudio Aurum Beta-S Mk2 As well as their exotic MCs, this German company make some fine affordable MMs too. GBP 355.00 (also available Beta Mk2, GBP 275.00) |
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Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III A real enthusiasts cartridge at a bargain price, this high-ish output MC has a naked construction akin to top end Van den Huls and others, which leads to a bright, clean, and very open sound quality. Just be careful not to damage when mounting, and don't knock the rather exposed cantilever, 'cos you'll be back for a new one! GBP 195.00 now even lower price! Also available Blue Point No 2 (fully enclosed design) - GBP 135.00 now even lower price! |
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Dynavector Karat D17 D2 Mk2 From the Japanese company who seem to have been around since hifi was young, the 17D2 has a very short diamond cantilever (a speciality of the company) and sounds clear, clean, fast and dry. A popular model. GBP 595.00 (Other Dynavectors also available, such as the popular high output DV 10X5 at GBP 250.00, and the DV 20X at GBP 395.00) |
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Decca London Gold / Super Gold A real *blast from the past*, the Decca is still available, and still has a sizeable band of very loyal followers. Very fast, exciting sound, not for the faint hearted audiophile. Gold - GBP 459.00 Also available Maroon - GBP 359.00 |
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Ortofon Kontrapunkt (a and b) These relatively new MC models from the famous Danish manufacturer have rapidly become popular, sounding neutral to warm, and quite precise. Kontrapunkt a GBP 500.00, Kontrapunkt b GBP 800.00 Please note there is an Ortofon trade-in scheme for damaged cartridges of the same model on a like-for-like basis - please enquire |
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Cartridge Man Music Maker Mk3 The Cartridge Man (Len Gregory) might not be well known outside the UK, but has become a minor cult figure here, for his various accessories, modification services, and the Music Maker pickup, a modified Grado design. Definitely recommended. One of the few non-MCs to sound like an MC, but without the hassle (has a high output). GBP 725.00 |
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Transfiguration Spirit 3 One of our old favourites, now in Mk3 form, the Spirit is fast, exciting, yet retains bags of subtlety too. A low output MC design (as are most at this price level). GBP 950.00 |
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Lyra Helikon A recent addition to the famous Japanese Lyra range, the Helikon has been an enormous success story for them. Sound has considerable immediacy and speed, and it is quite a neutral sounding design. Another cartridge with virtually no body, leading to transparency and openness. GBP 995.00 now even lower price! Also available Helikon SL (lower output) - GBP 1045.00 |
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Brinkmann EMT ti Brinkmann are well known (specially in Europe) for their electronics, and EMT are, of course, famous for their generator assemblies and, indeed, complete cartridges, which have gained wide acceptance in the studio and broadcast fields. The Brinkmann EMT is a very nice audiophile implementation of the EMT chassis, and sounds open, transparent, and very neutral. GBP 1995.00 |
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Koetsu Red T If ever a cartridge had a legend built around it, the Koetsu is it! Hand built by two generations of the Sugano family in Japan, Koetsu's have been around since the 70's and have featured a wide variety of exotic body materials, each one with it's own distinctive character. Sound is traditionally warm and musical - some say the ultimate musical (rather than hi-fi) experience. GBP 1499.00 (also available Black GBP 1250.00,
Red K Sig GBP 2399.00, Urushi GBP 2699.00) |
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Transfiguration Temper Available in both V and W variants (differences are too numerous to go into here, but the W has a somewhat higher output, at about 0.5mV) these cartridges build on the success of the cheaper Spirit, retaining the engaging and lively nature, whilst adding more subtlety and accuracy. GBP 1995.00 |
MM or MC?
Moving Magnet designs traditionally dominate the lower end of the pickup market. With this type, the generator coils (which connect ultimately to the amplifier) remain stationary whilst the magnet is mounted on the end of the moving cantilever. The interaction of magnet and coil (relative movement) generates the output voltage. The stylus/cantilever/magnet assembly is usually user replaceable (except the Regas), and the output is a relatively healthy 5mV or so, into a highish impedance of about 50kOhms.
Moving Coils dominate the top end. They feature fixed magnets, and the coils are attached to the cantilever, obviously a very delicate assembly with micro fine wire. The nature of the design means a fixed, non removeable stylus assembly, so if you break it, it either goes back for mending, or you get a reduced cost replacement, trading in your old unit.
MCs are usually very low output, due to their very small coils, typically 0.3mV - 0.5mV, and need fairly low impedance loading, between 100Ohms and 1kOhms, so they place more burden on the amplifier. They also tend to put greater demands on the pickup arm through their generally lower compliance (stiffer) design. However (and I know there are quite a few MM enthusiasts who disagree) MCs tend to have a more open, spacious, and generally three dimensional sound, as well as a more even frequency response, which is why they predominate at the higher end of the audiophile market.
There have, of course, been other methods of translating the movement of the stylus to an electrical output, such as the Moving Iron design, which is the principle used in Grado cartridges, and the now long defunct (somebody will prove me wrong) condenser (capacitor) type cartridge. And, for many, many years, the crystal or ceramic piezo electric effect cartridges totally dominated the low and mid of the hifi market. Most of the Record Players (integrated turntable/amp/speaker units) so popular from the 50s through to the 70s used piezo type pickups.
