A little stylus advice please....

I've recently purchased a rega p25 and need to sort a cart for it and have a few options.

OPTION 1: A mate of mine has a cartridge man music maker (not sure which mk) which he'll sell me for £200. Its currently installed on the deck as a loan. It sounds great but I've not compared it to anything else. What I've been reading suggests its more suited to heavier arms than the rega's. TBH I don't really want to spend so much right now but if this is a deal too good to miss I might stretch.

OPTION 2: Same mate is selling a shure v15 (not sure on mk again) which needs a new stylus which are about £20 and he wants £50.

Option 3: Should I buy something else new or used? I hear good things about the denon 110 and dynavectors are supposed to be a good match for regas? I have a 640P so can go either MM or MC.

Financially I would like to spend under £100 right now and probably upgrade it in June/July with something better possibly a rondo red?

There is presently an hum through my system, it's not noticeable unless nothing is playing. I know rega arms don't have an earth wire and this can be a problem with some cartridges namely grado's which the music maker is based on.

Open to all suggestions with thanks.

 

The P25 is a nice TT with a good arm and can certainly benefit from a good cartridge.

The Musicmaker is a modified Grado Prestige model. It has very high compliance and very light damping. This means it prefers low mass arms. It'll work ok in the Rega which is low-med mass and is a well regarded cartridge but for £200 you should be sure it hasn't had much use.

If it were my P25 I'd go the DL110 route which has a certain affinity with the Rega TTs. It's a really good cartridge period, and punches above it's price bracket, easily competing with £250+ models such as the DV10X5.

Tracks well, neutral, great 3D sound staging and largely immune from loading issues that effect most MMs.

 

How does the dl160 stack up against the dl110? I've been offered one of those used for £90

 

either of the denons will be spot on, I used both on a P25, and if anything thought the red the better.

If you are looking to move to a MC, I would suggest you keep your eyes open for a stage better suited than the 640. Just my personal opinion having used one for a while.

 

If the 160 is new for £90, take it.

I know of nothing else <£100 that's better.

 

The 160 is used, I've seen a new 110 for £100 which probably makes more sense

 

That's a good price for a new 110 and in most arms it will just pip the 160 for performance.

DL110s cost £50-60 in the early 1980s so the price rise in very reasonable over the years.