is there any discontinued cartridge that worth seeking

[ram7]

I wonder whether there are some discontinued cartridge that worth seeking in the preowned market- Anyhow I refer to those cartridge that you can find only in the used market .

[crofk]

Welcome to VE ram7. I'm sure that you will find several that will have an opinion about that here. For me, the few that first come to mind are the AT's from the 70's and 80's -- AT14Sa, AT15S(S), or Ortofon-- again for me the OM30.

There are folks here that like Shure, Grace, and about every other cartridge made. Hopefully they will chime in and give you their 2 cents worth.

[bakelite2]

I am using an AT15XE with a shibata stylus and personally I think this is pretty hard to beat on my system which is valve phono and 2A3 PP valve amp. speakers are Tannoys 15" Monitor Reds. I have not gone down the path of modern expensive cartridges but I do have a Linn Adikt & AT440MLA but always come back to the 15XE.

[VinylIsTheBest]

I would say a Shure V15 III, Audio Technica AT20SS or a Grace F9 series, excellent vintage cartridges.

[1200y3]

There must be a million!
AKG cartridges are very nice.

[halls]

some of the out of production carts i've listened to and worth the chase...

SHURE V15 TYPE 3

GRACE F8 AND F9

FIDELITY RESEARCH

[fantasia]

HI I don't disagree with any of the above!!!!!!!!

it is just that some of these have developed a cult status and are getting expensive!!!!!!!!!!!
for not over the top money, or if i had enough i would probably by the lot myself!!!!!!

Fantasia


Viinyl addict

[Bigears]

Hi

the answer depends on the arm you intend using the cart for. For low mass arms, I can only offer that the best I've heard period was a Shure V15 Mk 111 fitted with the later MR35 HE stylus (for the Mk5) so by deduction, I'd throw the Mk 5 in there too. This cart sparkles with great dynamics and detail in the right arm. Particularly good with the Vestigal (?) arm fitted to transcriptor decks.

For medium mass arms, I rather like the Ortofon MC25ML, now discontinued I believe, although the stylus made its way onto far more expensive carts, some which may still be in production. Highly detailed and dynamic.

Amongst my other considered shortlist would be the AT OC9, for low to medium arms. A rather under-estimated MC IMHO and capable of a fine performance on the right deck. Last heard gracing an Oracle Delphi/Quad 11/Quad ESL set up where the sound it generated was sublime.

[nat]

As noted elsewhere, as wonderful as they were, AKGs are dicey -- the suspension degrades over time faster than most cartridges.
If you want to feel some disappointment over how little progress has been made in cartridge design, look for an old Decca London or FFRR. They work best in a unipivot (though the first Decca arms were normal pivot arrangment types), they mistrack relatively easily, measured distortion is ghastly and the quality control is dire, but a good one will startle you with its realism.

[desktop]

Since I collect phono cartridges, it might be unfair to make a complete list but there are many good cartridges out there that have been discontinued. First let me suggest getting any shibata or line contact Grado stylus (or even a nude elliptical) like an MCX from an 8M body or a G2 shibata, then put that stylus assembly on a new Grado Black body. The quality of the older Grado styli is remarkable, and the combo described is spectacular.

I have so many others to recommend that I use daily.
Any Accuphase,
ADC: XLM, XLM II, XLM III, ZLM, or PSX-40
Any Argent MC
B&O 6000, 20EN, MMC1 & MMC2
Nagaoka NP-50
Concord 100 (.4 mil stylus), Concord 300 Line Contact Stylus
Coral 777EX, 555EX, MC-82

Any properly functioning Decca after the ffss or London, although the Decca Gold II elliptical shows up once in a while and is very, Very good

Any Denon elliptical (like the 300 or 217) the 103 series is "okay" but not great, although many are available used

The Elac 777 and 555 are good in ultra-lightweight arms like the Infinity Black Widow

The Empire 2000 ZE also works well in those ULW arms. The Empire MC 3 and MC 5 are also incredible but seem to like medium/high weight arms.

Most old Fidelity Research cartridges are excellent but my fave is the FR-44. I also like the FR-3 transformer.

I like the Garrott P88 (and I hear the P89 is better but I don't know how)

The GAS Sleeping Beauty is good (it's a Coral 777 clone)

The Klipsch moving coil carts are great too

I love my Madrigal Carnegie One as well

Micro Acoustics 2002 (had), 100e (had) and 530 MP (have) are all very good

I have a bunch of Nagatron carts like the 350/360CEX and all are excellent

I have so many Ortofon MC carts I like I have trouble faulting any of them (I have 7) 3 of my faves are the Rohmann, the MC 200 U anc the MC 10 MKII Super. There are so many others I like too (the MC 15 Super, etc. etc.) I don't really like their transformers though ... go figure??

I also have many Dynavector/Onlife cartridges I use. I have a retipped 20a in one deck right now. If the price is low and it works, always try a Dynavector (the arms were great too). Of course the 17D or 23R are in a special class by themselves.

The Signet 5E is nice, the 7LCA is better

I love my Supex 900E and 901 E Super too

I make my Linn Klyde work great, but I have another exploded one (just fell apart) so be careful

My original Transfiguration Temper still works great

My Benz Ref 2 works well too, my 3 original Gliders all worked really well for about 2-3 hours, then bottomed out and didn't work at all after that.

I recently got a Yamaha MC 705 that works really well too

I still like the old Stanton 600 cartridge, and the 981 LZ and the 747 with the 75S stereohedron stylus

The Pickering 3000S I have with the same stylus is also very good.

I have many Audio Technica carts as well, and like the MC 32, the 150 and 152, very much, but the OC 5 and OC 7 are great too. The OC 9 can still be found new, so I don't include it.

Finally as one of the best ever, I like my Van den Hul Colibri diamond, but I've heard the boron version too and it's also wonderful

There are so many out there I want to buy from Pierre Clement, EMT (for my linear arm turntable), Monster Cable, Zyx, Miyabi, Kiseki, Allaerts, Adcom, etc. etc.

I often trade cartidges and sell them since I have about 200 and want to get down to about 50. I have use for about 20 others for my Dual and Elac changers to use with 45s and 78s and in my 3 B&O turntables. But I have numerous Audio Technica carts like the 12s for sale and many others from Shure and Stanton, plus numerous styli or bodies alone. I usually keep the high end stuff for my own listening so selling them is unlikely. Let me know what you want. I might have something nice at a reasonable price.

[michaelwnz]

Welcome Ram7.

If you are going to collect cartridges there are many discontinued collectable cartridges. Desktop has a fine list.

But if you are seeking something to use now I would buy a new cartridge; easy to obtain, better value for money etc.
_________________
cheers,

[siniy123]

[michaelwnz]

You're the one who must be kidding with such hyperbole.



So an 70's/80's Shure or AT can wipe the floor with a current Sumiko or Shelter ?

Yeah right !


_________________
cheers,

[siniy123]

Shure not. They were more in mainstream, but AT with AT-1000, ART-1, and Signet TK10MLII could show small shops such as Sumiko and Shelter, who is the boss. For real Innovation in MC designs please take a look on JVC (Victor) top of the line MC-L1000, Yamaha MC-1S and other. I'm not talking about many great MM/MI/Electret that will wipe the floor with current very expensive MC.When big boys are not there anymore small mice such as Shelter and Sumiko with designs straight from 50s and 60s can play.

[desktop]

Although I agree that there were some great cartridges made pre 1984 when vinyl demand began to slack, and some like the Shure V 15 MR are no longer made, many of today's cartridges rank with the best ever. I have a tiny list;

Dynavector 17D3 (whatever iteration is current like Mk X or something)
plus all the top 2 or 3 models they make

Ortofon Kontrapunkt B and models above this with Replicant styli but not the Kontra "C"

Golden Note Top-OL
Mobile Fidelity
Top Sumiko
Mantis
Shelter Harmony
Top Transfiguration and Lyra models
Benz Ref 3 or Ruby
Top Koetsu
Top Kiseki
Top Miyabi
Top Zyx
Top Allaerts
Decca Gold Mk V elliptical (I haven't heard the Jubilee much)

I think technology has progressed greatly because certain vinyl fanatics are compulsive about making vinyl sound better and better. True some brands have gone downhill, like Shure, Stanton, and Grado, and others like Empire are not the same. Someone still makes a boron cantilever version of the Nagaoka/Osawa NP-50 (the NP-500). But the Concord 100 cartridge company bit the dust.

Still, Lyra, Shelter, Transfiguration and others show how MC technology can progress. Audio Technica's 150 MX is a very advanced MM, as is the latest Stanton/Pickering LZ models available in England.

I think older top cartridges in good shape are much better values for the money, since VdH offers $300 VdH1 retips with boron cantilevers. I don't prefer older cartridges, but I won't pay $3000 for a cartridge either. So I think there really is a place for older cartridges.