NAGAOKA Cartridge MP Series - MP-110 Record Cartridge

I like to buy used records and screen them on my vintage Denon DP-45F, a high(ish) end turntable from the 1980s. For perfect records, I like the Audio Technica MicroLine carts (line contact, which is the best way to record from perfect vinyl LPs), but for less than perfect records (which is most used records you might buy), I was quite happy with a handful of used, vintage Pickering V-15 series (with brand new styli, of course), because they're very forgiving of less than perfect records, and warm enough to forgive a lot of surface noise. Anyway, I bought this Nagaoka on a whim because I have multiple headshells and wanted to hear what other inexpensive carts sound like. When I got it mounted and set up, it sounded so good, I just never took it off again! Very clean, well taken care of records sound great! Warm, clear and crisp, while slightly worn, well loved party records sound decent too. Of course if you change cartridges, you have to know how to adjust the tracking alignment, tracking force and anti-skate to the specs in order to get the best results. If you have a turntable that came already set up with whatever cartridge it was sold with, then you need to know whether you can fit a different cart on it. (Most vintage and higher end modern turntables allow all the adjustments and they should be specified in the manual.) If you can't figure it out, consult your local phono-phile or look on line. If this cartridge sounds bad on your system, it's very likely you don't have it set up correctly, so check that before you complain. Could be an easy fix!

What an affordable upgrade to any turntable. If you are looking for a warm mid presentation this is the cartridge for you. Among its strong suit is its low tracking noise and forgiving nature with older or questionable tracks. That’s not to say that it won’t pick up on damaged or scratches, but it is more forgiving than some of the more analytical cartridges. So, if you’re running through reference or PA speakers this cartridge will help them sound more musical and pleasing for long listening sessions with less ear fatigue.

I have always used moving magnet phono cartridges. I recently came to the conclusion that new cartridges outperformed vintage ones, so I had been using an Audio Technica VM520 and was very happy with it. I had no reason to upgrade. Then I started reading and watching reviews of the Nagaoka MP-110. Reviewers all said how amazing this cartridge was and how I should run out and get one...today! I was intrigued. The deciding factor was that this is not a moving magnet cartridge (or moving coil). It is a moving permalloy. Basically, a cartridge with the high output of a MM but with the sonic improvements of a MC. The permalloy material is lighter so the stylus cantilever is not dragging heavy magnets around. The stylus is free to more accurately track the groove. The elliptical stylus is also .4x.7 instead of the usual .3x.7. This was described by some reviewers to provide better contact with the groove and sound better with older, worn records. OK....I'm in. I installed the MP-110 on my AR XA turntable, set the tracking force to the middle of the recommended range and adjusted the overhang to reduce tracking error. I decided to play only vintage records. No remastered stuff. From the very first play I was amazed. I had come to accept a certain amount of distortion, especially in the high end and a certain amount of reduced low end from records. It was just inherent in the medium, I thought. Well, this MP-110 cartridge proves that it can be eliminated, if not greatly reduced, at least. The sound from this cartridge is so clean and crisp you have to remind yourself that you are listening to a record. The low end is amazing on this cartridge. Acoustic guitars sound like real acoustic guitars with realistic low end. Every bit of overdrive and fuzz on electric guitars is there. Guitar effects like flanging, phase and Leslie are clearly reproduced. Terry Kath's Telecaster never sounded so good. I look forward to playing every record I own in the coming months (and years) and rediscovering the music contained in those grooves. If you have only used MM cartridges because you didn't want to spend the money on an expensive MC cartridge (or don't have a MC phono stage), do yourself a favor and try out this Nagaoka. You will not be disappointed.

What was I listening to before? I had the Grado that came with the U-Turn on this thing for 10 years. When I swapped out the cartridge today, I first put on some Busnois chancons, and I was shocked. I'd recently purchased an upgraded pre-amp, but I heard little difference. Suddenly, soprano voices had an unheard-before depth...bass playing on an ELO recording from 1976 suddenly had top-end as well and articulation. It's like I've been listening to my entire collection through a Pinto rear car speaker for the last five years. Beautiful, articulate and warm, neither thuddy nor shrill. This is the experience I expect from records, and now it's back!

I’ve been using this cartridge for almost two months now and I can happily report that this is a great cartridge, especially considering its cost. I have broken it in using a combination of three different turntables, three different phono preamps, and three different integrated amps. This is the gear I’ve used: Turntables: Audio Technica AT-LP1240 U-Turn Orbit Teac TN-550 Phono Preamps: Parks Audio Budgie Tube Phono Preamp U-Turn Pluto Phono Preamp Cambridge CP2 Phono Preamp Integrated Amps: Outlaw Audio RR2150 NAD c352 Kenwood KA-7300 In addition, these are the cartridges I own and used for comparison: Ortofon 2M Bronze ($440) Ortofon 2M Red ($100) Grado Prestige Gold ($260) Audio Technica AT95E ($45) Audio Technica AT440MLb ($200) And yes, I have tried every single combination of the components – and yes, it took forever (months). Overall, I would consider the Nagaoka MP-110 my second favorite cartridge of the six I own regardless of price – second only to the Ortofon Bronze, which costs $300 more. The Nagaoka produces a very pleasant sound, and for every genre of music I threw at it. In addition, it handles surface noise as well as a cartridge possibly can, in my opinion. The MP-110 tends to handle older records and/or poor vinyl pressings very well. It’s also a solid tracker. With the good out of the way, the Nagaoka is not without its flaws. This cartridge is extremely sensitive to VTA – so much so, that I would avoid buying this cartridge if you cannot adjust your VTA. It is a rather tall cartridge and after experimentation, it tends to prefer a medium to heavy mass tonearm, with a somewhat heavy headshell. In addition, most cartridges, in my experience, are happy with a tonearm that is nearly parallel to the record’s playing surface. However, this is not the case with this cartridge. With this cart, the pivoting mechanism of the tonearm needs to be elevated much more than one would think. I settled on mounting the MP-110 on the Audio Technica AT-LP1240, and its VTA is as versatile as they come. On the AT-LP1240, it’s at approximately 85% of its peak height. This took a ton of trial and error and was a complete pain, as you would expect. Finally, this cart can be a bit edgy on the treble, especially with female artists, but I think it’s more closely associated with a proper VTA setting than anything else. With its ability to minimize surface noise, there is a small tradeoff in terms of detail, but it’s not major by any means. This is a cart I could certainly live with if I had to choose one particular cart under $300. The Nagaoka MP-110 definitely gets a thumbs up from me, as long as you can adjust your VTA.

The first needle drop gave a good indication of what would follow: I heard a sharp but unobtrusive click. When the music started, every sound was sharply focused but not harsh. Even straight out of box, the Nagaoka MP-110 conveyed the music's energy. I can only imagine how its dynamics will improve as it breaks in. As the stylus approached the inner grooves, it did not lose its focus, and the sounds of each instrument remained separate. I suspect that it greatly exceeds its rated 23 dB channel separation because the stereo image is very wide. I also suspect that only the tip mass resonance (an 18 KHz peak according to the measurements) disturbs its top-to-bottom coherence. Although it adds some glint to the highest treble sounds, it does not emphasize surface noise or previous stylus wear. This design approach allows the full attack and decay to come through, so I find it a worthwhile trade off. I could easily understand every word of vocals and hear every note played. The MP-110 has astonishingly good articulation for its asking price. I haven't heard any cartridge under $300 equal its clarity, let alone surpass it. Best of all it does not make lesser records hard to listen to. This is the Moody Blues (Threshold THS 12/13) sounds like a 3rd-generation analog tape, often painfully dull, grainy, and compressed, yet the acoustic guitars on the opening Questions track kept their energy and the vocals kept their clarity. Likewise Frampton Comes Alive! (A & M SP-3703) sounded like the live band it actually was. Sting's bass on Synchronicity and Paul McCartney's bass on the newly remastered White Album have a very live-sounding attack, resonance, and decay. Based on its uncanny ability to convey musical information without adding tracking error or emphasizing surface noise, I highly recommend the Nagaoka MP-110. It easily outperforms several cartridges I've heard in its price range, and you'd have to spend $300 (preferably on an MP-150) to surpass its performance.

Perfect! This cartridge is so great. It really opened up my old jazz records. Such warm and beautiful sound.

I have had a number of cartridges over the years and this one is by far the best. In my experience it has proven itself to be sonically superior to cartridges two and three times its price. I have had both the Ortofon Red and Blue and was not satisfied with either of them. The Red has a high degree of inner groove distortion and the Blue suffers from a lack of high frequency air and extension along with a slightly congested sounding midrange. The MP-110 does not have the issues I experienced with the Ortofons. I have read other forums where the MP-110's sound is described as dull or overly warm. I have even heard the MP-110 on YouTube in direct comparisons with other cartridges where it has sounded rolled off and dull. I can only attribute that to improper cartridge loading, since it does not sound dull or rolled off at all in my system. The MP-110 has great low and high end extension with great overall detail. The mid range is tad bit recessed but not enough to detract from the overall presentation. The MP-110 has the ability to portray clarity without sounding overly bright, while still providing a degree of air which so many other cartridges fail to do. Five stars for the performance at its price point. Highly recommended!

Cellule achetée et installé pour une sony ps-x4. Livré dans sa boîte originale avec des vis et un tournevis, bien protégé et de très bonne qualité. J'avais auparavant une ortofon om 5e, puis une om10 (je dois reconnaître que malgré tout ce que j'ai pu lire, je n'ai pas distingué de différence entre ces deux stylus...). Ce qui me gênait avec ces ortofon, ce sont les basses trop sèches et les aiguës trop nets et clinquants parfois. Le son me paraissait bon, mais trop chirugique. Je me suis donc laissé tenter par cette nagaoka dont la réputation semblait excellente. Je dois dire que je suis ravi : le son est beaucoup plus ample, moins criard en aigu et surtout les basses sont rondes et non pénibles à la longue. Une écoute à fort volume est très agréable et n'est plus dérangeante comme avec mon ortofon précédente. Les voix ressortent beaucoup mieux et des petits détails apparaissent, auquels je ne pétais pas attention (ou n'entendais pas simplement pas) avant. J'écoute principalement de la chanson française (Hardy, Gainsbourg, Sanson, Souchon, Bashung...) et du rock progressif des années 70, et je suis totalement satisfait de ce nouveau rendu et ne peux que recommander.

Excellent cartridge, has increased my listening enjoyment. I find myself excited to listen to favourite vinyl albums, the cartridge is particularly good on older pressings. Excellent value!

Der Tonabnehmer hat meiner Meinung nach einen ausgesprochen warmen Klang. In allen Bereichen sehr ausgewogen, sehr schmeichelhaft für meine Ohren. Ein ausgesprochen gutes Preis/Leistungs-Verhältnis. Nicht ganz so fein wie ein MC-Tonabnehmer, dafür funtkioniert er auch ohne Vorverstärker. Ich bin total zufrieden und kann den Kauf empfehlen.

Mamma mia, come suona bene! Ho provato diverse testine ed uso ancora la mia "vecchia" Stanton Epoch II ma questa Nagaoka è davvero qualcosa di incredibile. Io non sono un audiofilo ma quando ho messo il primo LP (Dark Side of the Moon) sul piatto la mia mascella è caduta per lo stupore ed il piacere. Suona bene, un suono dolce, preciso che valorizza ancora di più il vinile. Bassi presenti nella giusta misura, mai slabbrati ma pieni, potenti e ben frenati, alti ben delineati, mai sibilanti ed è un piacere sentirli e medi che fanno da raccordo tra bassi e alti senza mai essere invadenti. Una dinamicità incredibile che ti farebbe stare ore ad ascoltare un palcoscenico così aperto con strumenti ben identificabile ed una separazione dei canali corretta e veritiera. Sono ben consapevole che il giudizio su questi componenti è assolutamente soggettivo ma, credetemi sentire suonare la Nagaoka MP 110 è puro piacere. Ho anche deciso che, budget permettendo, ne compererò un'altra magari la sorella maggiore chissà, sognare è sempre bello. Comunque veramente grazie Nagaoka, mamma mia che meraviglia ascoltarti!

Very warm sound and easy on the ears. Found myself listening to my vinyls for several hours before my wife stopped me