Cartridges

The Quintet Blue is a very homogeneous cartridge The Quintet Blue's sound image will tend to more smooth reproduction compared to Quintet Red and moderate dynamic strength compared to Quintet Bronze. It features a Nude Elliptical diamond mounted on an aluminium cantilever. The Quintet Blue will bring more space, depth and detail into the sound and is a very good choice for any kind of music, especially rhythmic. Learn More

Garrott Brothers cartridges are one of the iconic HiFi brands for audiophiles dating back to the 1970s. They implemented early on some grounding breaking designs on relatively massed produced products.

And although the founding Garrott brothers John and Brian passed away in the 1990s, their cartridges and designs live on. 

The Garrott Brothers cartridges emphasise the choosing of the correct, high quality diamonds to get the most extraction from the record. Cheaper diamonds have blemishes and gouges that will degrade the musical quality. Garrott Brothers diamond and the P77i in particular use Gem quality diamonds and orientate them so the grain of the diamond aligns with the groove of the record.

Also in this model, are built in dampening factors to give a rich musical experience to your listening. As a result of all the above new design features, the Garrott P-77 gives you a beautiful sense of the dynamics of moving coil cartridges, without the typical MC brittle treble and "listening fatique". The P77i proffers the smooth, easy-listening sound for which the best MM cartridges are noted, along with the realistic, clear mid-range for which Decca cartridges are renowned, but without the lack of warmth encountered with that particular design.

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The 2M Bronze really steps up and shows you what you were missing form your favorite music. It has a way of pulling oodles of detail off a record and tracking that groove like a bloodhound. It sports a Fine Line diamond to read the grooves better, while minimizing wear over time. Learn More

This is the perfect cartridge to sit on a Rega turntable. It is exactly the same as the standard 2M Bronze but has a slim profile so you can mount it on a Rega without the need of a spacer.

Even the styli are interchangeable with the standard 2M Bronze.

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Offering exceptional performance and musicality at an affordable price the latest generation Blue Point No. 2 sets a new standard in its price class. Moving coil design, high output, 2.5-mV, alloy cantilever, Blue Point-cut elliptical diamond stylus, and standard 1/2" mounting. Learn More

The version of the 2M Black made with the slim profile perfect for mounting to a Rega turntable without the need of a spacer.

In every other way, this is the same as the standard 2M Black. You can even use the same styli.

 

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The 2M Black is Ortofon just plain showing off. The Shibata diamond stylus is something special. Its vaguely knife-shaped profile gets deep into the grooves of your records and digs up detail and warmth that you didn't know was ever there before. There's no finer moving magnet cartridge on the market.

You may notice we are not always necessarily the cheapest retailer of cartridges but we will ALWAYS include a free professional fitting with all our cartridges. Along with any routine check-ups on your turntable.

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The Quintet Bronze moves into the higher league of the Quintets.

The slim profile of its Nude Fine Line diamond stylus will track even the highest frequency information, making it a must for discerning listeners.

Additionally its larger footprint ensures reduced distortion and record wear.

The sound will be very evenhanded with respect to all aspects. Classical music will be reproduced with power and open space around each of the instruments.

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The Blue Point Special EVO iii is where the Sumiko cartridges start to come into their own. With sensational treble quality that floats in an inky blackness. When you move up to something like the Blackbird you hear these qualities too but just more realism, detail and presence.

If you'd like something good but not 'overkill', the Blue Point Evo iii in either low or high output is precise and musical.

For some Turntables including Regas, we will need to fit a 2mm spacer on you tonearm for this cartridge. Like the HiFi Guru Spacer

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The evolution of the ever-popular Blue Point Special, the EVO III raises the performance bar even higher at this highly competitive price point. Its tonal balance is remarkably smooth, exhibiting a fundamental richness and overall warmth without sacrificing musical detail and resolution. Sound stage focus and channel separation are exemplary, as is the cartridges’ ability to maintain a coherent consistency that reproduces music as a perceptual whole. High-output moving coil design with 2.5-mV output. Chemically coated aluminum cantilever with 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical stylus. Ultra low-resonance open generator design. Resonance controlled mounting system provides the lowest mechanical impedance. Highly compatible with most modern tonearms. Learn More

Our entry level design captures more than its share of recorded beauty —by design. Big soundstage, detail and resolution at an affordable price.

The Otello is Soundsmith’s entry level Fixed Coil design, realizing an affordable pathway into the world of high-performance cartridges. Built by hand like all Soundsmith cartridges, the Otello provides a perfect balance of tone and resolution at a great price. The result is a cartridge that is at ease with any type of music. Just slightly warmer than other Soundsmith designs, Otello yields a richness of timbre that is utterly beguiling with a level of speed and dynamic range that no other cartridge in this price. The result? A wonderful design that gives the warmth of MM and the light-footedness of Moving Iron design.

Also available in dual-coil mono

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Garrott Brothers cartridges were founded in the 1970s by the Australian twins John and Brian Garrott. They operated their business out of Australia but drew the most renowned from the American and European markets. For those in the know, however, Garrott Brothers cartridges have also represented the best cartridges at their price points.

Garrott Brothers apply some fundamental principles that always make their cartridges better. Diamond quality and orientation is one of those. You can have a conical diamond but choose a good quality one without those microscopic gouges and it will sound infinetely better. Orientation along the diamond grain is also essential to extracting the best out of a groove.

THe Optim S-2 FGS goes beyond their basic principles offering a specifically tuned cartridge that's neither too dampening nor too exentuating leaving simply the music as it's meant to be.

The FGS or Fritz Geiger Signature is a stylus design based on one by the dutch cartridge manufacturer, AJ Van del Hul to replicate the cutting device used to make the vinyl. The cartridge body has been made to exactly match this particular cut of diamond.

This is a beauty of a cartridge that delivers real depth and musicality to a recording.

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Easily our most ambitious moving magnet cartridge to date, the Amethyst features a nude Line-Contact stylus and an upgraded generator assembly providing ultra-low noise, hair-raising dynamics, and superior tracking. This unique setup benefits from the same physically-generated electromotive forces fundamental to MM designs which accurately recreate the original sound of any recording. The Amethyst is an easy choice when looking for the most performance possible along with the versatility to pair well with nearly any phono stage on the market.

For some Turntables including Regas, we will need to fit a 2mm spacer on you tonearm for this cartridge. Like the HiFi Guru Spacer

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The newest member of the Rega MC cartridge range the Ania was inspired by the success of the Apheta 2 and Aphelion MC cartridges. Using the same exceptionally complex hand wound micro coil found in the rest of the range, the Ania is housed in a unique PPS highly rigid body, ensuring accurate construction and Rega's three point fixing method ensuring optimum connection to the headshell and automatic setting for overhang. The new body is protected by a CAD designed, clear rigid cover to protect the internal fine wires, making handling whilst fitting, safe and risk free.The Ania features a super high-powered, neodymium magnet and a coil meticulously hand wound on to an iron cross. This miniature assembly allows us greater freedom to track the vinyl groove ensuring even more detail is extracted from the vinyl. All of these features combine to deliver a balanced and dynamic performance that will engage you with your vinyl like never before.The Ania is the perfect partner for the Planar 3, Planar 6 or RP8 turntables. Factory fitted options for some models are available Please ask your retailer for details. Learn More

The Quintet Black S is the best example of Quintet’s overall excellence

The Quintet Black S is graced with a Nude Shibata diamond, considered one of the best stylus profiles available, mounted on a high-performance Sapphire cantilever.

The Shibata’s slim, highly polished profile allows an exceedingly wide contact area to the walls of the groove and ensures detailed and pure reproduction thoughout the spectrum, including even the most high frequency groove information.

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This is fantastic value for a 'naked' body cartridge and is the perfect choice if you like an airy, spacious sound. It doesn't have as much life, dynamics and detail as the Starling and if you have a flexible phono stage, I would recommend the Low Output version of the Songbird.

For those who want an incredible cartridge with a transparency in the sound and don't have a fancy phono stage to match the low output models, this is a beauty.

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The Sumiko Songbird is a fantastic value 'naked' Moving Coil Cartridge. This is their low output version which has a bit more sensitivity and well worth it if you have a capable Moving Coil Phono Stage.

The sound of the Songbirds is of space and transparency. They are illuminating cartridges and frequently hailed as the perfect first real cartridge for those part-time audiophiles. But beware, the quality of this cartridge will turn any part-timers into raging full-timers!

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The new Ania Pro Moving Coil cartridge is a variation on Rega's existing Ania cart. The difference being a Vital Profile nude diamond instead of the Eliptical. An Eliptical diamond has a rounded surface that's shaped so it's longer front-to-back than it is side-to-side. It has its advantages but it means that alot of the high frequency and the smaller details are missed from being picked up within the groove.

The Vital Profile has some specifically designed sharper edges that get the diamond further into the groove producing a more nuanced, detailed sound.

It retains all the nice things of the original Ania as well: Neodymium magnets, handwound loss mass coils, aluminium catilever, one-piece rigid body and the CAD designed cover of the internals which is made in red to distinguish it from its little brother.

This is great upgrade that's well worth the money. It's a great upgrade option on a Rega Planar 3 and can come factory fitted to the Planar 6 or 8. It is also a fantastic choice for other brands of Turntable. We do recommend we fit this cartridge to your deck as tracking and alignment become more crucial when the diamond is cut in this way.

Don't fret though, Carlton Audio Visual will fit your Ania Pro free of charge and offer you a tea, coffee or beer while you wait!

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A suberp cartridge with the class and refinement of a Moving Coil but the ability to go straight into a Moving Magnet Phono stage.

Created out of the desire to make a very high performance design at an affordable price, the Carmen was crafted to have unparalleled purity of tone and ultra-smooth presentation. Just slightly lush with a well-developed midrange, the Carmen is surprisingly pleasing and will seduce you into long, late listening sessions.

The stylus used is a large part of what makes it special; an ultra-low mass occlusion free nude diamond cut and polished into a true hyper-elliptical shape. The combination of low tip mass and the Fixed Coil design gives the Carmen a tremendous resolution advantage over MC designs selling for more than twice the price. Housed in a handmade solid Ebony case, the Carmen delivers.

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