Compare moving magnet (MM), moving coil (MC), and moving iron (MI) phono cartridges by output voltage, stylus profile, tracking force, compliance, recommended loading (resistance/capacitance), channel separation, frequency response, weight, mount, and inductance. For load capacitance help, see the RCA Cable Capacitance Reference Tool.
Pick a phono cartridge in each column to compare key specs side-by-side. If a spec isn't listed, the field shows as "--".
Cartridge A
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Cartridge B
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Data sources & notes
Selected cartridge sources
General references (site-wide)
- Audio-Technica VM95 series
- Audio-Technica VM Series lineup
- Ortofon 2M series
- Ortofon current cartridge catalog
- Denon cartridges
- Dynavector products
- Rega cartridges
- Goldring cartridge buyer's guide
- Grado cartridges
- Hana cartridges
- Sumiko cartridges
- Henley Audio (Sumiko Rainier specs)
- Henley Audio (Sumiko Wellfleet specs)
- Henley Audio (Sumiko Black Pearl specs)
- Rega Nd5 product page
- Rega Nd7 product page
- Nagaoka cartridges
- Goldring cartridge comparison chart (PDF)
- Ortofon SPU brochure (PDF)
- Ortofon SPU moving-coil cartridges datasheet (PDF)
- Nagaoka cartridges brochure/specs (PDF)
- Nagaoka MP series specifications (PDF)
- Grado brochure/specifications (PDF)
This tool focuses on a broad cartridge list, grouped by manufacturer. Specs are filled where a reliable manufacturer or third‑party source was available; unknown or unpublished values are marked "--". Each link below points to a manufacturer page when available, or a credible reference (PDF/spec table/reviewer spec section) when a direct product page wasn’t available.