Does one need to spend more than $500 for a phono cartridge? Grado, Sumiko, and Goldring would beg to differ.

Over the past decade, it has come to my attention that high-end publications have a weird sense of gear fetishism as it pertains to phono cartridges; and don’t think I have not spent the time listening to some impressive cartridges from Miyajima, Dynavector, Lyra, or Koetsu myself — I just don’t see the point in buying one.

I would like to think that I represent the majority of audiophiles who have a budget that hits a ceiling around $500.

I have heard all of the arguments in regard to extracting 100% of the information inside the grooves but none of them sway me enough to spend $5,000 or even $2,000 on a phono cartridge.

Build a record collection with that kind of money.

Let the 2024 phono cartridge showdown commence.

The System

The Cambridge Audio Evo 150 Network Amplifier does include a rather workable MM phono section, but for the purposes of the showdown, I decided to inject my Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 and Moon by SimAudio LP110 V2 into the mix to extract the best possible performance from the 3 cartridges.

Loudspeakers included the Q Acoustics 5040 and Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s; which were also augmented with a REL T/5x subwoofer.

Turntables included the NAD C 588, Pro-Ject X2 B, Pro-Ject Debut Pro, and Yamaha YP-701; which are suitable decks for the Goldring E4, Grado Labs Timbre Opus3, and Sumiko Blue Point No. 3 phono cartridges.

Sumiko Blue Point No. 3

Eric Pye did a wonderful job reviewing the Blue Point No. 3 and his observations about its pacing and organic nature piqued my interest. We both share a similar obsession with jazz music and he’s never steered me wrong in regard to great music suggestions.

The high output version is similar to my Dynavector 10×5 in that regard and whilst it has always worked rather well with my Croft Phono RIAA Phono Stage (42dB of gain) — it was clear that the Sumiko needed a few extra clicks on the volume control to reach the levels that I enjoy.

Grado Labs Timbre Opus3

The Opus3 is nestled inside a Maple housing (8 grams) and I discovered that it sounded the best on the vintage Yamaha YP-701 and the replacement Ortofon LH-2000 Headshell that I ordered during the pandemic for another cartridge.

The higher output of the Opus3 makes it compatible with a wider range of integrated amplifiers that include a phono section, but make no mistake — this is one MI (Moving Iron) cartridge that really benefits from something like the Pro-Ject or Moon by SimAudio phono stages.

Goldring E4

The Goldring E4 is designed to be compatible with all medium-to-high-mass tonearms of the type found on the majority of budget to midrange turntables. And because it’s constructed using the same high-quality core as the other E Series cartridges in the range, E4 is ideal both for those who wish to upgrade an obsolete cartridge in its entirety or those who want to boost the performance of their existing E Series cartridge by replacing the stylus. 

The E4 offers 3.5mV of output which is on the lower side for MM cartridges but it proved to be sufficient with the Pro-Ject Phono Tube Box D2, and Cambridge Audio Evo 150 Integrated Amplifiers. 

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This article originally appeared at ecoustics.com. A preview of the full feature has been posted here with permission. Read the full article including the sound comparison between these three cartridges here.