Cartridges in my collection

Here's a few pictures I took yesterday of some of the cartridges in my collection:

     •  Denon DL-103D
     •  Denon DL-103R
     •  Shure M97XE
     •  Grado Gold
     •  Shure V15 Type III
     •  Audio-Technica AT92E
     •  Ed Saunders Red Elliptical
     •  ADC QLM 30 body with a K8 stylus
     •  Ortofon Omega
     •  Audio-Technica AT3600

Of course, I still have my Zyx R100H and Omega-G, which are currently mounted, and I also have an Audio-Technica AT95E mounted on my Yamaha P-751 turntable.

Best one in the list (not counting the Zyx's)?

Best one in the list (not counting the Zyx's)?

I would have to say the Denon DL-103D with the DL-103R a very close second. The 103D is a little more refined in the highs and not as bright as the 103R. There is also a tiny bit more warmth in the midrange with the 103D.

The 103D was mounted on my Denon DP-52F turntable when I bought it used, so I have no idea how many hours are on it. My 103R is still relatively new, with maybe 100 hours of use. 103R's can sound bright with a bumped up midrange when they are new, but they mellow out and become sweet after about 75 hours.

Overall, both sound nearly identical and both are excellent cartridges.

After the two Denon cartridges, I would say the Grado Gold would be next, followed by the Shure V15 Type III. Both cartridges have a wide frequency response and smooth, clean midrange. The Grado is a very warm and sweet cartridge with a 'classic' vinyl sound to it. The Grado sounded very good on the VPI Scoutmaster and I can see why the Grado woodies would be a great match with a VPI. The Shure is a fantastic tracker and excels in high frequency clarity without being bright. Bass on both is deep and full.

My least favorite would be a toss-up between the ADC QLM 30 and Audio-Technica AT92E. Both cartridges are just 'average' in performance and might be decent for someone just getting into vinyl on a tight budget, but they are not audiophile quality.

On a side note, I'm still not sure which Zyx cartridge I prefer. There are some attributes of the R100H that I prefer over the Omega-G, which might come down to the wire used in the coils; copper vs gold. I think I prefer the sound of copper over the gold. Both are fantastic, but the R100H is a little more 'alive' sounding and the Omega-G is more relaxed. My R100H has a lot more hours on it than the Omega-G, so it's still premature to make a definitive judgement since, maybe with more time on it, the Omega-G will open up more. The Omega-G stylus tracks a little better and reveals lower level details more than the R100H, but the R100H has a bit more air between the instruments and is more revealing of the acoustic space than the Omega-G. I love both cartridges, but if I had to do it over again, I would probably get the Omega-X copper.

I've been reading rave reviews about the SAE LT 1000 Cartridge made by Coral of Japan. It goes for 200 Bucks.

I've been reading rave reviews about the SAE LT 1000 Cartridge made by Coral of Japan. It goes for 200 Bucks.

I found a site with an audio sample of the SAE 1000 LT.

It sounds very good for $200. Does anyone know how much these cartridges went for when they were new?

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