Clearaudio in search of a cartridge
 

Well I just ordered a Clearaudio table. An Emotion w/satisfy tonearm. It is an older one but in great shape. It does not have a cartridge, so I am looking for opinions on a good cartridge for it. I HAVE TO STAY UNDER $500. My system consists of a McIntosh MX130 w/built in phono amp, McIntosh MC7150 amp, NODE streamer, and Sonus Faber Chameleon speakers. I mainly listen to country, blues, smooth jazz, and classic rock (no metal).
Thx
Rick

https://i.imgur.com/OFcqFNGh.jpg

In the $500 I would look at the AudioTechnica lineup. They make some great cartridges at their price points.

I used a clearaudio Aurum Beta S for a few years on my Emotion-Satisfy arm set up with good results.

The AT150MXL is a great cartridge if you can find one.
Am also a fan of the Ortofon Super OM40, which I listen to today.
An alternative is the Grado Sonata3 MI cartridge. Ivan is a Grado dealer and can help you with that.

Congrats on the table! The Ortofon Bronze is a strong contender in your price range, if you can stretch the budget and get a discount from a dealer the 2M Black is a lifetime MM cart IMO.

Funny you would say that. I'm listening to Bach via the 150mlx on my 1210mkV. So yes, that would make a superb choice for the OP, but I don't think he'll find any new ones and I'd be very, very skeptical to buy used.

For the sake of ease, I'd recommend the OP puruse the inventory at Music Direct. Just don't pay too much attention to all the awesome descriptions that everything has there. It's called puffing.

After looking around, this one is likely the most direct replacement in his price range. https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-ca...hono-Cartridge