Cartridges

The Palladian is a moving-coil cartridge from Acoustical Systems, a small German analog specialist (led by designer Dietrich Brakemeier) best known for precision tonearms and geometry tools, with the Palladian cartridge line hand-finished in-house using a tempered aluminum cantilever and Q4 Shibata EVO stylus.

The AT-ART1000 ("ART" for Audio-Technica Reference Transducer) is Audio-Technica's handmade-in-Japan flagship phono cartridge, designed by the then-retired Mitsuo Miyata together with successor Yosuke Koizumi. Its signature "Direct Power System" mounts the moving-coil generator directly on top of the stylus tip rather than at the end of a cantilever, an idea first proposed roughly 30 years earlier by Miyata and finally realized after three additional years of R&D.

The LP-S is Benz Micro's flagship moving-coil cartridge, using a vented, machined ebony wood body mated to a high-mass brass frame for improved tonearm coupling, along with a square ruby-jewel-plate generator and a nude line-contact diamond stylus on a solid boron cantilever (Music Lovers Audio; vinylsound.ca). Compared with the standard LP, the LP-S adds roughly 50% more mass for enhanced vibration and resonance control, aimed at deeper bass, greater dynamic contrast, and increased resolution (vinylsound.ca).

The Benz Micro SLR Gullwing is a high-end phono cartridge with a streamlined, stripped-down design derived from the LP-S, using an open, free-floating brass body instead of an Ebony housing. It employs a 0.28 mm solid boron rod cantilever, a nude mirror-polished line-contact diamond stylus with a 3 × 60 µm tip radius, and a square ruby jewel plate coil assembly. The cartridge weighs 12.2 g, has a 0.34 mV output at 3.54 cm/s, 40-ohm internal impedance, 10–50,000 Hz ±1 dB frequency response, and is specified for 1.8–2.2 g tracking force, 500–47,000 ohm loading, and low- to medium-mass tonearms.

The Talisman V2.1 Gold is Clearaudio's entry point into its moving-coil cartridge line, built around a hand-polished ebony body and using the patented symmetrical eight-magnet coil arrangement with gold-wire coils shared with the brand's higher-tier models. The current V2.1 revision updates the generator and cantilever/stylus assembly, borrowing the generator design from Clearaudio's Concerto V2.

Legendary low-output moving-coil developed with NHK for broadcast use and in continuous production since 1962. Famous for its dense, musical midrange.

Long-running high-output moving coil that works into standard moving-magnet phono inputs. A budget audiophile staple alongside the DL-103.

La DS Audio DS-W3 est une cellule phono optique de troisième génération utilisant une conversion photoélectrique, succédant à la DS-W2. Elle possède un corps en aluminium, un cantilever en bore, un stylet à contact de ligne, une masse de 7,9 g et un niveau de sortie de 70 mV. Associée au phono EQ optionnel, elle propose quatre sorties basse fréquence ainsi que des sorties asymétriques RCA et symétriques XLR.

The DRT XV-1s is Dynavector's flagship-adjacent moving-coil cartridge, using a magnetic circuit built from eight small ALNICO magnets arranged in a V-shape with a flux-stabilizing damper coil design. It pairs a solid boron cantilever with a PF line-contact stylus, and reviewers have called it a masterclass in vinyl reproduction, citing exceptional channel separation and low distortion.

Long-running Japanese moving-coil with a Micro Ridge stylus and hard aluminum body, a favorite pairing for Rega and Linn tables. Also available in high-output form.

The Dynavector DV 20X2-H/L is a moving-coil phono cartridge available in high-output and low-output versions, producing 2.8 mV and 0.3 mV respectively. It uses a solid aluminium-alloy body, rigid magnet construction, magnetic-flux damping with softened magnetism, and neodymium magnets; the cantilever is a 6 mm hard-aluminium pipe fitted with a Micro Ridge nude diamond stylus. The high-output version is intended for most MM inputs, while the low-output version is designed for dedicated MC phono stages.

The Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua is a low-output moving-coil phono cartridge with a flux damper and Alnico magnets. It uses a titanium headpiece, PCOCC copper coil wire, a 6 mm solid-boron cantilever with a PF line-contact stylus, and a square armature with a matching front-yoke aperture for magnetic-flux linearity. Output is 0.26 mV, with 6-ohm impedance, a recommended load above 30 ohms, 20–20,000 Hz frequency response (±1 dB), and 9.8 g weight.

The Dynavector XX-2A is a low-output moving-coil phono cartridge using an Alnico magnet and patented Flux Damping technology. Its magnetic circuit uses specially annealed pure iron, while the vibration system comprises a 6 mm solid boron cantilever and PF line-contact stylus. Output is 0.28 mV at 1 kHz and 5 cm/sec, with 6-ohm impedance, 10 mm/N compliance, and a recommended load impedance above 30 ohms.

Designed by Ed Meitner after discovering DS Audio's optical cartridge technology, the DS-EQ1 is a solid-state, single-purpose "optical equalizer" built exclusively to interface with DS Audio's line of optical phono cartridges rather than conventional MM/MC designs (EMM Labs official product page; Dagogo press release). Because optical cartridges output an already-linear signal rather than requiring RIAA de-emphasis in the traditional sense, the DS-EQ1 instead applies proprietary discrete equalization and Class A amplification through a custom aerospace-grade ceramic circuit board, with a front-panel switchable subsonic filter option (Dagogo press release; Stereophile — Spin Doctor #12).

The JSD 6 is a high-end stereo phono cartridge with an aluminium body and a dynamic transducer design. It uses a high-polish SFL diamond intended to reduce tracking noise and support high-resolution tracking.

The EMT JSD Novel Titan is a moving-coil phono cartridge with a titanium body, titanium/sapphire cantilever, MR HP diamond, and EMT multi-layer core transducer technology. It uses a pure silver coil and 1/2-inch, four-pin connection, with a 23° vertical tracking angle and 16 g mass. Specifications include 1 mV output at 5 cm/s, 12 µm/mN compliance, 20–30,000 Hz frequency response, 2 × 16 Ω impedance, 2.1 g tracking force, and a recommended load of 100–200 Ω.

Der EMT JSD Pure Black ist ein MC-Stereo-Tonabnehmer mit 1/2"-4pin-Anschluss, Saphir-Nadelträger und MR-HP-Diamant. Sein schwarz eloxiertes Aluminiumgehäuse kombiniert eine hochverdichtete Einlage im Sandwich-Aufbau aus Aluminium/Bronze zur Unterdrückung unerwünschter Resonanzen; der Generator verwendet eine 4N-Kupferspule und einen vergoldeten AlNiCo-Magneten. Die technischen Daten umfassen 1 mV Ausgangsspannung bei 5 cm/s, 24 Ω Impedanz pro Kanal, eine empfohlene Abschlussimpedanz von 200–300 Ω, 20–30.000 Hz Frequenzgang, 12 µm/mN Nadelnachgiebigkeit, 2,4 g Auflagekraft und 11 g Masse.

The Fuuga is a moving-coil phono cartridge designed and hand-built by Osamu Nagao (former Japanese distributor for Miyabi designer Haruo Takeda) together with OEM cartridge builder Tetsuya Sukehiro, produced in very small numbers outside any large manufacturer's line.

Flagship of Goldring's British 1000-series moving-magnet range, fitted with a Gyger S line-contact stylus on an aluminum cantilever.

The Goldring Ethos SE is a moving-coil phono cartridge and the special-edition flagship of Goldring’s cartridge range. It uses Ag 9999 pure-silver coils, a low-mass Swedish-iron cross-armature, a GOL-1 generator with low-reluctance pole shoes, and a vital line-contact nude diamond stylus on an alloy cantilever. The generator is housed in a precision-milled, black-anodized 6082-T6 aircraft-grade aluminium body; key specifications include 0.35 mV output, 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency response (±2 dB), channel separation better than 30 dB at 1 kHz, and a 7.7 g cartridge mass.