Evening all, I recently acquired a lovely Sony PS-X6 turntable, and I’ve been looking for a new cartridge or stylus to pair it with. The current cart is a Ortofon VMS 20E MK II, which isn’t a bad cart at all but is definitely showing its age. Whilst researching and asking people on discord and the like for advice, I’ve become a bit unstuck over cart choice.
I *was* going to do what most folks do and pick up the Audio Technica VM95ML cart, as people near unanimously sing its praises on numerous tables. However, I’ve been advised that the VM95EN, or more recent 530XEN model would be a better option, as the X6 doesn’t have any VTA adjustment possible. Given the rather large gulf in value between the two (300 hours on an EN vs 1000 on a ML) I figured it was best to ask people here whether they’ve used the ML on the X6, or one of its similar units, such as the PS-X5, for an idea of whether to go for the Micro line, or stick with the EN.
I’m also open to carts by other companies - I already have an Ortofon/Reloop OM Black cartridge, which should be able to take the OM 20 stylus, but I’m not sure whether the high compliance design of that stylus would suit the tonearm of the X6.