$300 MM Cart vs $950 MC Cart

Systems

Before I decided to take a MMF 5.1 turntable to Audiogon I wanted to see what it would perform like with a better cartidge. The table came with a $300 Goldring 1012GX MM cartridge. I swapped out this cartridge with a $950 Ortofon Kontrapunkt A MC cartridge.

This turntable was a pretty good entry to mid level turntable with the use of a Project Speedbox and the factory supplied Goldring cartridge. After installing the Ortofon this table was taken to a new level. The soundstage is very nice. Details are brought forward. Overall every aspect of the music is enhanced to a very enjoyable measure.

This turntable will now be kept for use in a second system. If you get the chance to give this cartridge a demo I'm pretty sure you'll agree that this MC cartridge will give you a new appreciation for your turntable. Given that it is a $950 upgrade the pro's and con's will have to be weighed for this move.

madmax

Yep, no matter what the design people will pay more for a cartridge that sounds better. If you consistantly see a lot of sales on something that seems to cost too much then chances are it sounds good enough to cost what it does. Congrats on the find!
madmax

inspiredsports

Sell the Goldring and your net upgrade cost will drop to an even more reasonable number. I've been able to move through about a dozen different cartridges to move up the food chain that way.