Budget Cartridge, Nagaoka MP-150 Review

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Mechnutt

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I recently set my son up with a vinyl system using a vintage Pioneer PL-55x TT and Emotiva XPS phono preamp. The rest of the system is a Parasound A21 amp, Pass Labs DIY B1 premp and Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 speakers with a Velodyne sub. For a cartridge we tried a 2M Red that a friend loaned me. The sound was just ok. It had good dynamics but was a little edgy and unrefined sounding with a thin midrange. Surface noise was prominent. I own a Nagaoka MP-200 and my son loves the sound of my vinyl rig so we bought a Nagaoka MP-150. He is on a budget so I paid $200 of the $275. It was the right pick.

Nagaoka recommends 30 hours of break in and they are spot on. It took my MP-200 about 25-30 hours to sound its best. Once we hooked up the MP-150 it sounded good but not great. After about 3 hours the sound changed and it is giving a hint of things to come. The general tone is just on the warmer and darker side of neutral but not overly so. It has punchy tight bass and excellent dynamic's. The mid range is full, deep and tonally rich but still remaining transparent. The sound stage is wide. Vocals sound natural and detailed. Piano has depth and excellent decay. The sound is smooth and liquid without any edginess or harshness. Cymbals sound natural with good air. They are very minimally rolled off right now but that will improve with more hours like my MP-200 did. Surface noise was much more suppressed compared to the 2M Red but clicks and pops are a just a bit more prominent at present. To tell the truth, it has the same attributes of my MP-200. Once the 150 is broken in, I will swap the stylus with my MP-200 and see how they compare. I have a very modest vinyl rig that sounds great with the MP-200. Eventually I plan on upgrading to the MP-500.

If you are looking for a great sounding budget cartridge for one of you kids the MP-150 and 200 an excellent choice.

 
I use an MP-500 on one of my tables and I definitely like the Nagaoka "house sound" as well as everything else it does well.

Nice setup for your son, dad! :)
 
I purchased an MP-500 last year. In short I was underwhelmed. I took it off my SME M2-9R and replaced it with a Rega Exact. Both at the same price point. Liked the Exact better. The Nagaoka is OK but doesn’t excel in anything. Maybe I should have listened to the salesman and bought the MP-300. In any case, if you listen to the Nagaoka recommended stylus replacement hours it becomes a very expensive proposition.
 
Joseph R. said:
I purchased an MP-500 last year. In short I was underwhelmed. I took it off my SME M2-9R and replaced it with a Rega Exact. Both at the same price point. Liked the Exact better. The Nagaoka is OK but doesn’t excel in anything. Maybe I should have listened to the salesman and bought the MP-300. In any case, if you listen to the Nagaoka recommended stylus replacement hours it becomes a very expensive proposition.
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The Nagaoka sound certainly is not for every one. I like the smooth colored , romantic, warmer sound and excellent bass. But if you are looking for a more lively cartridge, look elsewhere. It also may not have been a good match for your rig. As far as the 200 hour replacement is concerned, I don't necessarily agree with it. I had some concerns before buying mine but I read some user reviews that calmed my concerns. It's a diamond tip and it should last as long as similar diamond tips. I have at least 150 hours on mine and have not noticed any degradation. It probably is a marketing ploy although I don't know why they would want to shoot themselves in the foot. However, when I get at least 300 hours I will reflect back and try to hear if I notice any degradation.

I don't know how long you ran the Nagaoka but the 2 that I have took about 30 hours or so to break in. I was underwhelmed until then. Also, bear in mind that they are a medium compliance cartridge and don't pair well with tone arms that need a high compliance cartridge like most of today's low mass tone arms. Otherwise you run into resonance issues.
 
The MP-500 is certainly not romantic or warm. The LPGear salesman did warn me that the 500 series broke that mold. That is why he recommended the 300 series. In any case the SME M2-9R is not a tonearm for high compliance cartridges. I owned the SME series III tonearm for many years but could no longer find any high compliance cartridges. I purchased the reincarnation of the series II for exactly that reason. I have no problem with fellow audiophiles loving Nagaoka cartridges, but they are simply not for me. The very emphatic guidelines of Nagaoka to replace the stylus shortly after break-in does bother me though. Reading between the lines it says to me “Don’t blame us if your cart sounds bad in short order. We warned you !”.
 
Joseph R. said:
I have no problem with fellow audiophiles loving Nagaoka cartridges, but they are simply not for me.
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I must apologize to my fellow audiophiles about my misgivings of the MP-500H cartridge. My Rega Exact fell apart during a head shell change. I never had a “build quality” problem with a phono cartridge in my 50 years of owning turntables. But in Rega’s defense they replaced my Exact with a used “demo” Exact. After a few months I realized the replacement Exact was not as good as my “new” one. I was forced to give my Nagaoka MP-500 a second chance. It still wasn’t great, but I decided to live with it until I saved up enough cash for a Clearaudio Maestro. Then one fine day I put the James Taylor album “That’s Why I’m Here” on the old Denon DP-755 turntable. I was flabergasted !!! The Nagaoka was performing and performing well. I was hearing very deep bass and nice high frequency twinkles. Not only that, but it’s imaging and separation exceeded my digital rig. Subsequent listening sessions reinforced my favorable about-face. My advice to naysayers like myself, is to give your Nagaoka an extended break-in before judging. Something “Mechnutt” already mentioned. So I admit I was wrong about the Nagaoka. Once again I apologize.

So right now I am $1,300 richer as my purchase of the Clearaudio Maestro is indefinitely postponed. I am settling-in for the long haul with the Nagaoka MP-500. I can only hope it will give me the 800 to 1,000 hours most other cartridges will provide. If it does, I will gladly purchase a replacement stylus.
 
Nagaoka recommends at least 30 hours for break in. I found they reach their peak at 50 hours. I own an MP-200 and MP-150 and enjoy them both.

Congrats!
 
Hi Mechnutt,

This is super timely for me as I've been researching upgrade cartridges for my Pro-ject Carbon Esprit (with the acrilic upgrade platter). It's a small living room system with a C45 pre-amp and a PrimaLuna tube amp driving and a pair of Sonus Faber toy bookshelfs (I plan to add a small REL sub to get the bass the speakers lack). I really like what I'm reading about the MP-200 but my budget is closer to $300 than $400. Since you have experience with both the 150 and the 200 should I bite the bullet and go for the 200? I will keep for a while, not really into frequent changes (my Ortofon 2M red has been on there for almost 3 years that I've had the table). My other option is an AT VM540-ML if you have any experience with those but sounds like they are a bit brighter (I generally listen to only Jazz so bright is not necessarily a benefit). Thank you for your advice.
 
zkratky said:
Hi Mechnutt,

This is super timely for me as I've been researching upgrade cartridges for my Pro-ject Carbon Esprit (with the acrilic upgrade platter). It's a small living room system with a C45 pre-amp and a PrimaLuna tube amp driving and a pair of Sonus Faber toy bookshelfs (I plan to add a small REL sub to get the bass the speakers lack). I really like what I'm reading about the MP-200 but my budget is closer to $300 than $400. Since you have experience with both the 150 and the 200 should I bite the bullet and go for the 200? I will keep for a while, not really into frequent changes (my Ortofon 2M red has been on there for almost 3 years that I've had the table). My other option is an AT VM540-ML if you have any experience with those but sounds like they are a bit brighter (I generally listen to only Jazz so bright is not necessarily a benefit). Thank you for your advice.
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I have the MP-200 on a Thorens TD-145 TT from the 1970's that has been restored. The MP-150, I bought for my son to use with a 1977 Pioneer PL55x or dx TT. They have similar sound, warm, full rich mid range, powerful and punchy bass without being bright. The top end is good but maybe a little rolled compared to brighter cartridges. They throw a wide sound stage. Personally, I like this type of sound because it is forgiving and makes most of my vinyl sound good. And I listen to a lot of Jazz and vocal music.

I tried an Ortofon Red that a friend loaned me while I was figuring out what cartridge to buy and I was not impressed. While it is punchy, it was too bright and grainy. Same for an Ortofon Blue which was a little more refined.

Be aware that the Nagaoka's are a medium compliance cartridge, so you don't want to pair it with a high compliance tone arm (low mass tone arm is the correct term). They can be used with a medium to high mass tone arm. Your TT has a low mass tone arm.

This Tone Arm resonance calculator can be helpful-

https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_resonance_evaluator.php?eff_mass=16&submit=Submit

I just checked, your tone arm has an effective mass of 6.0 and the MP-200 has a dynamic compliance of 7.2x10-6 cm/dyne which will give you a resonance of 17 which is too high. I am not saying it would not sound good but it may not. The MP-150 has a compliance of 6 which is worse.

If the Nagaka's don't work out, take a look at Hana Cartridges, which from reviews, look like they may have similar sonic's. Be aware, they are MC not MM but they do have a High Output MC at 2mv's which may or may not work with your phono preamp.(Hana EH with a compliance of 20) .

Also, take a look at Grado's.

Larry
 
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Not to be disagreeable here, but I am reserving judgment on the Hana’s until I hear them for myself. Only second to speakers, cartridges are extremely variable. But I have owned Grado’s and enjoyed them. I have also heard recent ones of which I was very supprised, they sounded pretty respectable. They have lots of energy in the mids. Great bass too. Not great with high compliance tonearms. Is “high compliance” even a thing now ? I think they went away in the eighties. Too bad as I loved the Stantons and Pickerings.
 
Joe, I guess I should have stated high mass and low mass tone arms vs compliance which deals with cartridges, so my mistake. High mass tone arms need a low compliance cartridge and low mass tonearms need a high compliance cartridge. Tone arms today are low mass.

I agree about hearing cartridges before buying, but you can't always do that. I live by the Needle Doctor and you can't hear every cartridge that they sell but you can listen most of the phono preamps. I bought my Nagaoka's based on reviews and got lucky. They were spot on.

So you are left with reviews or others experience. Every review I have read about the Hana's are about the same with no bad reviews. Of course, things can change with gear synergy.

Grado's work with low mass tonearms-high compliance cartridge. They don't work well with Pro-ject TT's that have AC motors due to the Grado hum.

Sheesh, I just re-read my earlier post from today, lots of mistakes as the wife was talking to me at the time. All are corrected.
 
Thanks for the detailed reply and the resonance calculator link Larry. Very helpful.
I've been surfing around and seems like some use Nagaoka with Project's carbon arm and get good results. The going discussions seems to be that they're not as low on compliance as it might seem at first glance, since they are using a different test frequency than Ortofon. Though it's all Greek to me as I'm new to TT technical terminology. I'm going to give the MP200 a try and will report back.
 
zkratky said:
Thanks for the detailed reply and the resonance calculator link Larry. Very helpful.
I've been surfing around and seems like some use Nagaoka with Project's carbon arm and get good results. The going discussions seems to be that they're not as low on compliance as it might seem at first glance, since they are using a different test frequency than Ortofon. Though it's all Greek to me as I'm new to TT technical terminology. I'm going to give the MP200 a try and will report back.
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Good call on the MP-200 over the 150. I have read reviews about people using the Nag's on modern low mass tone arms and with good results. It may be more of an issue with more expensive TT and tone arms. You may want to run it on the heavier side of the tracking force though. I bought mine direct from Japan for over 1/2 off 2 years ago. Got it in 3 days too. Less than what I paid for the MP-150 that was bought here in the U.S. Prices have gone way up though as vinyl has become more popular. Give it at minimum 30 hours of break in. It sounds like crap the first 10-15 hours so don't be alarmed. It came into its own at about 25 hours and got better until about 50 hours. I have about 100-125 on mine and no degradation that I can hear.
 
Excellent Larry. Will do. I bought mine from turntableneedles.com but like you live right by needle doctor. Too bad they don't carry the brand. Any chance you go to the ASM monthly meetings at the Pavek?
 
zkratky said:
Excellent Larry. Will do. I bought mine from turntableneedles.com but like you live right by needle doctor. Too bad they don't carry the brand. Any chance you go to the ASM monthly meetings at the Pavek?
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I keep wanting to go to the meetings but every time they have one I work. I work in the medical field and work evenings from 2pm to 8pm. I am a friend of Frank Van Alstine who attends some of their meetings.

I believe I bought the MP-150 from turntableneedles.com. The ND use to carry Nagaoka, not sure why they stopped.

You will like the MP-200 which is a little more refined than the 150. Tighter bass a bit more detail. I think that the 150 may be warmer but I am comparing it in different systems. What phono pre are you using?
 
Mechnutt said:
Joe, I guess I should have stated high mass and low mass tone arms vs compliance which deals with cartridges, so my mistake. High mass tone arms need a low compliance cartridge and low mass tonearms need a high compliance cartridge. Tone arms today are low mass.
Click to expand...
Mechnutt said:


I agree about hearing cartridges before buying, but you can't always do that. I live by the Needle Doctor and you can't hear every cartridge that they sell but you can listen most of the phono preamps. I bought my Nagaoka's based on reviews and got lucky. They were spot on.


Grado's work with low mass tonearms-high compliance cartridge. They don't work well with Pro-ject TT's that have AC motors due to the Grado hum.
Click to expand...



I understand and am generally in agreement. But I feel I must relate my personal experience with Grado cartridges. My experience with Grado was mostly when Joe Grado was alive. I ran the Grado G2 and Grado 8 cartridges with a TT that had a 24 pole AC motor. Never once did I hear any hum. When I upgraded to the Grado 8MR and the Grado 10, I used a DD turntable with an SME 3009 Series III tonearm. This tonearm has a published mass of 5.5 grams. Compared to the Stanton TOTL cartridges which had a compliance of 30, the Grado’s were less sure footed and could not track nearly as well as the Stantons. As high compliance cartridges went slowly away, I replaced my SME III tonearm with a Jelco MMT tonearm. Albeit the MMT was a really shitty tonearm, the Grados did much better. They thrived with the higher mass tonearm. I then upgraded again with the Grado MCX cartridge. This time I went back to the low mass tonearm. The TOTL Grado MCX was lackluster. When I replaced the SME 3009 Series III tonearm with the SME M2-9R (basically an updated version of the SME 3009 Series II) the Grado MCX came alive and now sounded high end. So therefore my experience is that the older Grado’s preferred a higher mass tonearm.


My more recent experience was with the Grado gold cartridge. I heard this on a VPI turntable with the 9” memorial tonearm. I have heard this tonearm many times with low compliant MC carts. The cheap Grado gold performed beautifully. This $260 cartridge sounded astonishingly good. This again reinforced my belief that Grados like a higher mass tonearm.


I am not touting Grado’s as I am very aware of their “house sound” and know they are not for everyone. But then again, what cartridge is ?
 
Joe, the pro-ject ac motors on their lower priced TT's are not shielded and some people get the dreaded Grado AC hum unfortunately.
 
Mechnutt said:
I keep wanting to go to the meetings but every time they have one I work. I work in the medical field and work evenings from 2pm to 8pm. I am a friend of Frank Van Alstine who attends some of their meetings.

I believe I bought the MP-150 from turntableneedles.com. The ND use to carry Nagaoka, not sure why they stopped.

You will like the MP-200 which is a little more refined than the 150. Tighter bass a bit more detail. I think that the 150 may be warmer but I am comparing it in different systems. What phono pre are you using?
Click to expand...


Well, hopefully you'll be able to make it to one of the ASM meetings next year. They are generally good and some are really excellent (actually Frank Van Alstine's was one of them!).

To answer your question, I use a McIntosh C45 as my pre-amp and it has an MM phono input. Not sure how good it is but I liked it in my main system (which is digital only) until upgraded to the current C47 which sounds better (though that could be the DAC in the C47 versus the dedicated McIntosh D100 which I used to have going into the C45).
 
Well, I have the Nagaoka MP-200 installed on my Pro-Ject Carbon Debut Carbon Espirit SB and can share some initial impressions. For those that are wondering (like I was) about the install it's generally very simple (and this was my first cartridge swap ever!). The MP200 comes with screws and nuts which is definitely a pita for about 10 minutes but with patience not hard at all. The wiring was different schematic from the Ortofon 2M Red so needed to pay attention. Adjustment with basic protractor was simple since the case is square. I set the VTF at 1.9 gm. Also the 2M Red is 1mm taller from tip of stylus to top of cartridge but after reading a bunch of various opinions I chose to not worry about it (though 1mm plastic spacers are included), after all the difference in record thickness is greater than that between standard an 180 or 200 gm.

As far as sound, I hooked it up to my McIntosh C47 pre-amp which has an MM/MC phono pre-amp built in. I am playing with the capacitance options but 50pf seems the best; any higher and cymbals tend to get a bit blurrier. Bass is amazing; tight, and clean. Mids and highs are just what I expected and why I chose the MP-200...sweet, not exaggerated and definitely not bright. This may not be the most neutral cartridge but with the C47, the MC152 amp and the B&W 805D2's which are all generally neutral I am very happy to have the added warmth from the cartridge for vinyl playback.

So far I've listened for about 10 hours; everything from Daft Punk to Dizzy Gillespie and Pink Floyd and I'm enjoying the sound a lot. Problem with describing improvements in sound from what came before is it's way too easy to get used to the new one to be able to say from a to z what's different, better, etc... In hindsight I should have listened to the 2M Red in this system prior to the swap, but I didn't. Doesn't matter because the sound I hear now is sweet and very satisfying. I doubt I will swap back just to compare (though the install was straight forward I'm good doing it once and again next time when absolutely necessary).

So, early summary is that I'm pleased; clarity, musicality, punch, all of that audio lingo....I'm not really ready to apply it correctly...but I will say, I'm very happy. I'm going to invite my friend over with some of his reference vinyl. He's 100% bonafide vinyl nut so we'll see what he thinks (He's got a Rega P3 with the Ortofon 2M Blue so similar total cost at around $1,000).

If anyone is reading this trying to figure out what I was; e.g. will the Nagaoka match well and be a simple swap for the new Pro-Ject Carbon turntables the answer is a definite Yes - go for it!

More to come after I've put the 30 or so hours I hear it takes to hit the sweet spot break-in.
 
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