📊 Best Hi-Fi Turntable Cartridges By Price - TTL Levels

↳ Best Budget Cartridge under $50

👉 Ortofon's most affordable elliptical stylus cartridge. If you're on a budget, this is a great option and will perform better than un-marked stock cartridges.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for everyday listening
• stylus shape: elliptical
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever material: aluminum
• output voltage: 4 mV
• frequency response: 20 Hz - 21,000 Hz

↳ Upgrade To Most Stock Cartridges, under $90

👉 This elliptical stylus cartridge is found on many entry-level hifi turntables. Can be upgraded with a stylus swap to (3) different levels of upgrades.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for everyday listening
• stylus shape: elliptical
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever material: aluminium
• output voltage: 4 mV
• frequency range: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz

↳ Staple Entry-Level Cartridge at $74

👉 This model has become the standard for entry-level cartridges. Elliptical cartridge and a sturdy metal cantilever for beginners. The stylus is also interchangeable, so it's easy to upgrade.

Pre-Mounted Model also available.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for everyday listening
• stylus shape: elliptical shape
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever: aluminum
• output voltage: 4.0 mV
• frequency response: 20 Hz - 22,000 Hz
  

↳ Best-selling + Most Popular HiFi Cartridge at $110

👉 This model is our top recommendation for the $100 price range. It features an elliptical stylus and Ortofon's excellent 5V engine. When you're ready to upgrade, you can swap the stylus to the nude diamond 2M Blue stylus.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for hi-fi listening
• stylus shape: elliptical shape
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever: aluminum
• output voltage: 5.5 mV
• frequency response: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz

↳ Top Value Nude Diamond Stylus at $129

👉 Nude diamond styluses are prized for their clarity and accuracy (vs. diamond-tipped, which feature a diamond tip bonded to a metal shank). The VM95en is one of the most affordable nude diamond cartridges on the market.

• Pre-Mounted Model also available

↳ High-End Audio + Easy Installation at $179

👉 The 2M Silver is an upgrade to the popular 2M Red. It utilizes silver coils (vs. the standard copper coils) and an upgraded suspension system. This comes factory mounted on an Ortofon headshell for easy installation. Lab-Exclusive configuration.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for hi-fi listening
• stylus shape: elliptical shape
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever: aluminum
• output voltage: 5.5 mV
• frequency response: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz ~ 20Hz +3 / -1 db

↳ Nude Diamond Stylus, Easy Installation at $250 Range

👉Ortofon's most affordable nude diamond stylus model. Better sound detail and forgiveness than the popular 2M Red; unmounted also available.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for hi-fi listening
• stylus shape: elliptical shape
• stylus construction: nude diamond
• cantilever: aluminum
• output voltage: 5.5 mV
• frequency response: 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz ~ 20Hz +2 / -1 dB

↳ A Step Above Elliptical, Nude Microlinear Stylus at $250 Range

👉 Microlinear stylus has a special shape that has more contact area with the grooves in the record, resulting in more sound detail.

• Pre-Mounted Model also available

↳ Well-Reviewed Japan-made Cartridge, $350

👉 A tight-specced elliptical stylus and upgraded cantilever deliver great dynamics and wide frequency range.

• cartridge type: moving magnet for hifi listening
• stylus shape: elliptical (0.3 × 0.7 mil)
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever material: aluminum pipe
• output voltage: 3.0 mV
• frequency response: 12 Hz – 33,000 Hz

↳ Nude Diamond Japanese Cartridge at $350 Range

👉 Most affordable nude-diamond stylus in the Nagaoka line. This super-light tip glides across grooves with great tracking, resulting in a sound users call "bright."

• Pre-Mounted Model also available

↳ Japanese Moving Coil Design under $500, Works With Standard MM Preamps

👉 In our opinion, the best value Moving Coil (MC) cartridge. Made and tuned by a Japanese company that has been making MC cartridges for over 50 years. MC cartridges have lighter mechanisms which pick up sound details better than Moving Magnet (MM) cartridges.

This EH Model is made for preamps with MM setting, the EL model works with MC preamps.

• type: moving coil (mc) for hifi listening
  
• stylus shape: elliptical
• stylus construction: nude diamond
• cantilever: aluminum
  
• output: 2 mV
• frequency response: 15 Hz to 25,000 Hz

↳ High-end Nude Fine Line Stylus Mounted For Convenience at $500

👉 The 2M Bronze's Fine Line stylus (similar to Linear stylus or Shibata shape) is a very specialized shape that results in better contact with the record groove. This contact results in much less distortion and even better sound details. Available as shown pre-mounted, or on just the cartridge.

• catridge type: moving magnet for hifi listening
• stylus shape: Fine Line / Linear
• stylus construction: nude diamond
• cantilever material: aluminum
• output voltage: 5 mV
• frequency response: 20 Hz – 29,000 Hz

↳ 🥈Honorable Mention: One-Piece Design With Choice of (5) Stylus Models

👉 Based on Ortofon's industry standard DJ cartridge silhouette, the Concorde Music offers easy installation, high quality stylus choices, and the ability to upgrade with any stylus in the line.

↳ 🥈Honorable Mention: Local Brand, Hand-Selected For Specs at $125

👉 Grado hand-assembles their cartridges in Brooklyn. The Green model is hand-selected from Grado Black cartridge runs, and designate the top 15% in sound tests.

• cartridge type: moving magnet
• stylus shape: elliptical diamond
• stylus construction: diamond mounted on brass bushing
• cantilever material: aluminum cantilever
• output voltage: 5 mV
• frequency response: 10 Hz – 50,000 Hz

↳ 🥈 Honorable Mention: Entry Point to Moving Coil Design at $400

👉 If you want to explore the qualities of moving coil (more sound detail, requires MC compatible preamp) the Quintet Red is the most affordable option we offer. The Red is known to be a well-rounded cartridge for all types of music. Ortofon describes its output as: "open, dynamic sound with a slight touch of warmth."

• cartridge type: moving coil for hifi listening
• stylus type: elliptical
• stylus construction: bonded diamond
• cantilever material: aluminum
• output voltage: 0.5 mV 
• frequency response: 20 - 20,000 Hz