Its time to rehash the good ole "Which Cartridge" question

[anatech]

Hi Panicos,
Sorry for the delay. Feeling like **** lately (my stars).

Yes, Ortofon currently does sell new styli for the VMS-20E MKII. Someone should explain to me why the VMS-30E MKII is not supported. That is the one reason why I bought a new 540 MKII.

I haven't had any experience with AKG's.

Great mids and highs, thin on the bass. Very smooth though. Their high compliance means that your records must not be warped or out of round at all. The lower priced cartridges are more robust.

-Chris

[Panicos K]

Perhaps ortofon could explain why the 30 is not supported?The truth is that the 20 was one of the most famous models.When you say they sell the 20,are they NOS,or made now?

[anatech]

Hi Panicos,
The VMS20E MKII styli that are sold are current original manufacture made by Ortofon. They would have sold out of the NOS ones many times over by now. Check their site, it's listed. As much as I liked the VMS20E MKII, the 30E is much better. The downgrade is hard to take. That's why when I bought a new one, I went up in quality.

I did sell tons more VMS-20E MKII cartridges. I bought one first simply because the specs were much the same as the 30E. Later, I tried a 30E and understood the truth. It was much better, especially in the highs. This due to the superior stylus shape I guess. If the new VMS20E MKII styli were upgraded to a 30E performance, I would be happy with going that route.

I did ask about the VMS30E MKII. I was referred to the local sales rep. No way to get an intelligent answer. Friendly fella, and that's all I can say about that.

-Chris