Best cartridges 2023: budget and premium options for your turntable

Black Sumiko Rainier cartridge on a dark grey background
(Image credit: Sumiko)

Looking for a new turntable? That's great, but you might be able to improve the sound of your current record player simply by switching in a new cartridge, saving you the time (and money) of searching for a new player. If you are looking to get a brand new spinner for your records, incidentally, check out our list of the best record players on the market. 

If you're simply seeking a new cartridge, though, they come in two types: moving magnet and moving coil. Moving magnet (or MM) cartridges have a cantilever which transfers mechanical vibrations picked up from the record groove straight into the cartridge's magnet. Its constantly changing magnetic field produces a magnetic flow which induces an electromotive force in direct proportion to the vibrations, and this signal is then amplified and turned back into sound by the speakers.

To use a moving magnet cartridge, your amp will need an MM phono input to boost the low voltage and drive the speakers.

A moving coil cartridge, meanwhile, has a fixed magnet and mobile coil. This coil moves within the magnetic field created by the fixed magnet, generating an electromotive force. Because its moving mass is closer to the pivot point, it reduces inertia, generating a more high-fidelity sound, but do note that these types of cartridges tend to be more expensive.

We've included both types in our list of the best cartridges, which runs from budget to premium models. Whatever you need, we've tried and tested them all so you can find the best one for you. 

Purple and black Goldring E3 cartridge on a white background

As a superb all-rounder, the Goldring E3 remains top of the class. (Image credit: Goldring)
What Hi-Fi? Awards winner. One of the best budget cartridges we've heard – a fine all-rounder.

Specifications

Moving Magnet: Yes
Moving Coil: No
Cartridge weight: 6.9g
Nominal tracking weight: 2.0g
Tracking weight: 1.5–2.5g

Reasons to buy

+
A refined performer
+
Expressive
+
Plays nice with other kit

Reasons to avoid

-
More premium models available

This impressive Goldring E3 is a cinch to fit and is compatible with plenty of turntables, making it a very versatile cartridge indeed. The sound is clean and precise, with plenty of clarity and power where required. It also handles rhythm well, and has attack in spades. The perfect accompaniment to many a midrange deck and easily one of the best cartridges we've heard at the affordable end of the price scale.

Read the full Goldring E3 review

Sumiko Rainier cartridge on a white background

If you're careful with the install, this fun and exciting Sumiko cartridge is an affordable, rewarding proposition. (Image credit: Sumiko)
What Hi-Fi? Awards winner. Fun and affordable – what’s not to like?

Specifications

Moving Magnet: Yes
Moving Coil: No
Cartridge weight: 6.5g
Nominal tracking weight: 2.0g

Reasons to buy

+
A full bodied, entertaining presentation
+
Good sense of punch and power
+
Easy to fit

Reasons to avoid

-
Demands careful installation 
-
Needs a good record player

Sumiko knows plenty about cartridge manufacturing. The company was founded in 1982 and continues to build all of its cartridges in Japan to this day. The Rainier moving magnet sits at the more affordable end of the company’s Oyster range and looks to be a good choice for those itching for that first upgrade to their turntable.

This Sumiko is a thoughtful design that’s easy to fit thanks to captive nuts inset into the body and sensibly squared-off edges that make fitting and alignment a breeze. 

Once up and running it's a surprisingly musical and engaging performer. Detail levels are good, but it’s more the cohesive way that the Rainier delivers all that information that makes it special. There’s a good dose of dynamics and plenty of punch when required. In a carefully chosen system, this is a superb performer.

Read the full Sumiko Rainier review

Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge on a white background

A well-priced moving coil cartridge that thrives on detail. (Image credit: Ortofon)
What Hi-Fi? Awards winner. An excellent moving coil cartridge that's very modestly priced.

Specifications

Moving Magnet: No
Moving Coil: Yes
Cartridge weight: 9g
Nominal tracking weight: 2.3g
Tracking weight: 2.1–2.5g

Reasons to buy

+
Detailed, precise
+
Plenty of expression
+
Simple to fit

Reasons to avoid

-
Demands the right kit

Ortofon has been making turntable cartridges since 1948, and it seems like all its expertise went into this one. The Quintet Blue moving coil is a true five-star product: simple to fit, not too heavy, so easy to balance out, and capable of a sound that's worth every penny of its asking price. It's an agile sound, with a high level of sonic precision that's brimming with detail. Plenty of refinement is evident too, and it's rhythmically surefooted with a good sense of attack. 

Just make sure you partner it with the right kit, otherwise it'll be like fitting pram wheels to a Ferrari.

Read the full Ortofon Quintet Blue review

Moving magnet cartridge: Vertere Sabre

Want to go premium? The moving magnet Vertere Sabre cartridge is your go-to. (Image credit: Vertere)
A premium moving magnet design that's fun, insightful and entertaining.

Specifications

Moving Magnet: Yes
Moving Coil: No
Cartridge weight: 10.3g
Nominal tracking weight: 2.0g

Reasons to buy

+
Musical and organised presentation 
+
Expressive dynamics
+
Easy to fit

Reasons to avoid

-
Priced deep into moving coil territory

The Sabre moving magnet is a carefully considered design, as we’ve come to expect from Vertere. That bold orange body isn’t just for show. It’s machined out of a solid block of aluminium for rigidity and clamps onto the generator structure with four bolts rather than being glued on performance and alignment grounds. The cartridge body’s top is raised at three points to ensure a solid and even contact with the headshell, and the front of the top even has a ridge to aid easy alignment.

The result is a bold performer that's confident without being in any way overbearing. Listening to Orff’s rambunctious Carmina Burana, we can’t help but be thrilled by the energy and drive of the music. The Sabre delivers this dramatic piece with all the gusto it demands. We get explosive dynamic peaks coupled with an impressive sense of control.

While the Sabre's high £845 / $1199 / AU$1695 price puts it deep into traditional moving coil territory, this is one premium moving magnet we can really get behind.

Read the full Vertere Sabre MM review

Pro-Ject Pick-it DS2 cartridge on a white background

A musical, easy-to-fit cartridge with plenty of personality. (Image credit: Pro-Ject)
This moving coil cartridge bursting with talent and musicality.

Specifications

Moving Magnet: No
Moving Coil: Yes
Cartridge weight: 9g
Nominal tracking weight: 2.2g
Tracking weight: 2.0–2.5g

Reasons to buy

+
Entertaining sound
+
Simple to fit
+
Gets the best out of any genre

Reasons to avoid

-
A little excitable for some 

The Pick-it DS2's body is made of a synthetic polymer and shaped by laser, in a bid to create a low-resonance base and help performance. And it works. The sound is thoroughly robust and dynamically expressive, with plenty of punch and bags of bass. The presentation is composed, and there's a ton of detail to get your teeth into. It's a doddle to fit and align too, thanks to its square-shaped body. Costing £599, truly capable and musical performer.

Read the full Pro-Ject Pick-it DS2 review

Nagaoka MP110 cartridge on a white background

On a budget? The Nagaoka MP110 is very capable cartridge for such an affordable unit. (Image credit: Nagaoka)
An affordable but very capable cartridge.

Specifications

Moving Magnet: Yes
Moving Coil: No
Cartridge weight: 6.5g
Nominal tracking weight: 1.8g
Tracking weight: 1.5–2.0g

Reasons to buy

+
Light, breezy sound
+
Good detail and insight

Reasons to avoid

-
Could use more dynamics
-
Iffy treble

Easy to fit and align, this cheap and cheerful cartridge from Nagaoka gives a bright, breezy listen that will immediately brighten up a dull system. It has a sweet midrange too. Downsides? The bass could do with a bit more authority, and the treble is a touch edgier than similarly priced rivals. But in terms of dynamics, this cartridge punches way above its weight, sounding like a much pricier model. 

If you're on a budget, it's well worth investigating.

Read the full Nagaoka MP110 review

Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge on a white background

A surefooted cartridge that lets the music take centre stage. (Image credit: Ortofon)
A steady hand that lets music shine through.

Specifications

Moving Magnet: Yes
Moving Coil: No
Cartridge weight: 7.2g
Nominal tracking weight: 1.8g
Tracking weight: 1.6–2.0g

Reasons to buy

+
Great timing
+
Dynamically surefooted
+
Easy to install

Reasons to avoid

-
Could use more insight
-
Too much background noise

Ortofon have plenty of cartridge options to suit all turntables, so it's no wonder if has two entries in this list. The 2M Blue has the same angular body as the 2M Red MM cartridge, and has a removable stylus that's easy to replace should it break or wear out. The unit feels well built, despite its largely plastic construction, while getting it set up isn't too tricky if you know what you're doing. 

So, sound? The 2M Blue delivers a real sense of vitality to recordings and brings a good sense of timing to proceedings. If you can put up with a little more background noise than some rivals, this is a very capable little cartridge indeed.

Read the full Ortofon 2M Blue MM review

How we test cartridges

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

Here at What Hi-Fi? we review hundreds of products every year, from TVs to speakers, headphones to hi-fi systems. We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London and Reading, where our team of experienced, in-house reviewers test the majority of hi-fi and AV kit that passes through our door – including cartridges.

What Hi-Fi? is all about comparative testing, so we listen to every cartridge we review against the current leader in its field to gauge how it compares to the best-in-class competition. We keep What Hi-Fi? winners and a range of cartridges in our stockroom (as well as a variety of turntables) so we can always pit new products against ones we know and love, and we do our best to review as many new models in as many markets as possible to ensure our contextual knowledge is the best it can be.

We are always impartial in our testing and ensure we hear every cartridge at its optimum – connected to the appropriate turntable and phono stage, and all placed on a sturdy and level surface. We'll use them in their best use case with different partnering kit and at the appropriate price range. We'll also play plenty of records and genres of music through them. Naturally, we give them plenty of listening time (and time to run in) too.

All review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole rather than an individual reviewer to eliminate any personal preference and to make sure we're being as thorough as possible. There's no input from PR companies or our sales team when it comes to the verdict, with What Hi-Fi? proud of having delivered honest, unbiased reviews for decades.

You can read more about how we test and review products on What Hi-Fi? here.

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Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.

With contributions from
  • Ozapata
    Hello
    With all due respect, I think that knowing which is the best cartridge is subjective because you can choose any of the 10 brands mentioned and try them on pressed vinyl (the 70s to 90s) in the United States, Latin America, Germany, Japan or England and you will notice that the listening response is not the best in some cases; you must have a collection of cartridges that fit every need.
    Reply
  • Mrs.Wright
    Audio-Technica Canada has recently changed distributors. They used to use Erikkson Audio, but now are using a third party fulfillment center. Products are being shipped out of a Mississauga warehouse. Products that are returned are visually inspected and restocked as new and resold as new. Whether you're buying directly from AT Canada, or through an authorized dealer - the inventory comes from the Mississauga 3rd party logistics warehouse. I would strongly recommend avoiding Audio Technica products because there's a very strong chance you'll receive a previously used item.
    Reply