v1nn1e 47 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Looking at the current price of cartridges, they do seem to have gone up pretty significantly over the last 3-4 years. It's a bit subjective (my memory etc!) but some mid-price MC carts appear to have increased by as much as 50% Just wondered what other people had observed...? I guess most carts are imported; does this make the homegrown Goldring's better VfM these days...? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uzzy 2,445 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, v1nn1e said: Looking at the current price of cartridges, they do seem to have gone up pretty significantly over the last 3-4 years. It's a bit subjective (my memory etc!) but some mid-price MC carts appear to have increased by as much as 50% Just wondered what other people had observed...? I guess most carts are imported; does this make the homegrown Goldring's better VfM these days...? It is difficult to compare - new exotic stylus profiles etc. If you think an Ortofon VMS20E was £30 in the late 70s .and a Denon 103 was £70ish which was more than a weeks wages for many - when you consider the volumes sold now (in the 70s it was 100s of 1000s of units meaning economies of scale in mass production) the cost cannot be considered unreasonable (IMO). You can still get a 103 for £225 lol I think the most economical top end cartridge is the Decca Gold - buy one for £700 and come retip have a fine line stylus to bring it up to Super Gold spec for under £300 and every few years when it is time for a new stylus off it goes for a rebuild with new stylus and armature. I bought mine in 1978 best investment I ever made It works great in damped unipivots and the AT1100, AT1300 and Mission 774 so no hankering after that very expensive arm lol Edited February 25, 2020 by uzzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colinjg 3,143 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 The link shows some exact old prices. Should have stocked up back then. https://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/index.php/world-favourites.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uzzy 2,445 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 23 hours ago, Colinjg said: The link shows some exact old prices. Should have stocked up back then. https://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/index.php/world-favourites.html I think the same when i see SME 3009s and Garrard 401s going for silly money - yet in the early 70s Comet were selling em for about £25 each lol - mind you with inflation £25 was two or three weeks salary back then .. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
v1nn1e 47 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 That was a very interesting link Colinjg. It seems to belay my theory somewhat. I was thinking primarily since I bought my AT33 about ~4-ish years ago, and the price seems to have shot up since then, but actually I've seen some deals on OC9's that appear much better. It does seem to vary quite a bit - Dynavector prices seem to have risen a lot, some AT's and Ortofon's not so much. Benz's also don't seem to have gone up too much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colinjg 3,143 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 49 minutes ago, v1nn1e said: That was a very interesting link Colinjg. It seems to belay my theory somewhat. I was thinking primarily since I bought my AT33 about ~4-ish years ago, and the price seems to have shot up since then, but actually I've seen some deals on OC9's that appear much better. It does seem to vary quite a bit - Dynavector prices seem to have risen a lot, some AT's and Ortofon's not so much. Benz's also don't seem to have gone up too much. Yes. A lot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f1eng 80 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 On 25/02/2020 at 13:59, uzzy said: It is difficult to compare - new exotic stylus profiles etc. If you think an Ortofon VMS20E was £30 in the late 70s .and a Denon 103 was £70ish which was more than a weeks wages for many - when you consider the volumes sold now (in the 70s it was 100s of 1000s of units meaning economies of scale in mass production) the cost cannot be considered unreasonable (IMO). You can still get a 103 for £225 lol I think the most economical top end cartridge is the Decca Gold - buy one for £700 and come retip have a fine line stylus to bring it up to Super Gold spec for under £300 and every few years when it is time for a new stylus off it goes for a rebuild with new stylus and armature. I bought mine in 1978 best investment I ever made It works great in damped unipivots and the AT1100, AT1300 and Mission 774 so no hankering after that very expensive arm lol My 3009 mk II Improved cost 3 weeks income in 1972. When I worked at Garrard in 1975 the 401 was £72 list iirc. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
triumph 103 Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 (edited) £200 for entry level ortofon quintet & AT OC9 MCs is not bad value these days at all Same gets you a very nice grado or nagoaka MM/MI as they all have big volume production small producers like lyra , dyna etc have shot up over the years Edited February 28, 2020 by triumph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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