Audiorpheus ([ Ссылка ]) posted a lot of interesting and fun videos related to affordable record playing. He used the Hi-Fi News Test LP to perform some tracking tests, with the Nagaoka MP-110 coming out on top.
For this short video I used my copy of the Hi-Fi News test disc to compare a Grado Green cartridge with an Audio-Technica AT92E. I bought the Grado for $100 a couple of years ago, and the Audio-Technica was purchased new in 2013 for only $20 (the price was increased later to $30). The cartridges are mounted and aligned in identical head shells, and installed on a vintage Pioneer PL-112D turntable with a tracking force of 1.5 grams.
The Grado Green buzzes just as badly as the Grado Black did for Audiorpheus. The AT92E, however, performs just as well on the difficult inner-groove tracking test as the Nagaoka did for Audiorpheus.
The replacement for the AT92E is the AT85EP, for $40. If the AT85EP performs as well as the older model, it's today's #1 tracking bargain, costing a fraction the price of a Nagaoka MP-110.
Follow-up: The AT85EP tracks Side 2, Track 8 cleanly. I'll make another video, comparing it with the (now discontinued) Shure M92E. [ Ссылка ]
