if you're looking for the best sound quality possible (for a dj cartridge), i recommend checking out the grado dj series...
http://www.gradolabs.com over the years i have tried basically every cartridge i could find: stanton, shure m44, ortofon dj/nightclub, etc. all of them have their own strengths and weaknesses but i've just never been satisfied with the fidelity from any of them. go to a hi-fi shop that carries audiophile quality phonographs/needles and you'll see how clean a good piece of vinyl can really sound. anyway grado has been making really high-quality (read: more expensive than your car) stylii for years so when they introduced a dj cartridge last year for under a hundred bucks, i was all over it. i bought the grado dj-200s for less than what i payed for my ortofons or my shures and i have not regretted it once. to my ears they just sound better than the ortofons, which are generally regarded as best sounding dj carts on the market. i will say that the shure m44 and the ortofon dj is a much stronger needle in terms of the abuse it will take. i wouldn't recommend the grados if they're going to see alot of club use or really heavy scratching (or if your friends are just heavy handed)... i have had my current stylii for about six months and i can tell they need replacing -- but i'm a freak and i change my needles every three or four months anyway so part of that my just be a psychological thing with me (i always say better to replace your stylus than your record collection). also my grados are able to cut through some scratches that a "thicker" needle will sometimes have trouble with -- all those moodymann records where the groove is really shallow tend to track a little better. just a suggestion... i've done quite a bit of experimenting with different cartridges so i'd be glad to answer any questions privately... stewart (not a sales rep for grado) --
