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Best cartridge for tracking inner grooves

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Shayne:
My brother in law has a V15 with the higher end Jico stylus mounted on a modified Technics SL-1200. It is respectable! That cartridge with the upgrade stylus is very nice but i'm very sensitive to inner groove distortion and it isn't what I would choose. I prefer the warmer sound of the Shure, but for tracking and handling distortion, in my mind it still goes to the AT 440MLA.

Some people says the 440 has a "sterile" sound and I would tend to agree but its a small price to pay for that level of tracking. Another option for you would be a Denon cartridge. They are the best of both worlds for my ears, nice warm sound, very low distortion. A DL160, 103, 301, depending on your price range.

In a nutshell, I was ready to abandon vinyl as a source in my system til I discovered the AT440. There are better cartridges, but not for any less money. Don't pay $239, you should be able to get these with some looking around for $160-170.

Shayne:
I had an extra that Stephen WVU is borrowing at the moment. I'll get him to comment on his findings. Not sure if he is definitely buying my extra 440, if not, i'll be selling a 440 that's not even broken in yet, less than 40 hours.

Slim-Shaddy:
I'd be interested in a used one that I could sell if I didn't like it, and be able to recoup my funds. The problem with the JICO is that I'd lose money if I didn't get the results I was looking for. I'm by no means wealthy. If I'm going to dump $150 plus on something, I'd better be sure it's what I want.

StephenWVU:
Ed, I will go ahead and say I have a Shure V15 Mk 4 cart.  There may be something wrong with it but compared to the AK 440 I might as well throw it in the trash.  There is almost no distortion with the AK cart but I am thinking I might move to a Denon and possibly a MC cart to compare the differences when I have some extra cash.  If you want to buy it I more than endorse it for what you want.

Shayne:
Sounds like Stephen is going to pass on the AT 440 mla, I am going to sell it. Less than 40 hours total, original box and packaging. Pm me if you're interested.

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