HELP: looking to upgrade cartridges. Ortofon Black 2MR vs. Rega ND7/ND5 vs. MC upgrade
I’ve had a Rega Elys 2 Cartridge on my Rega Planar 3 for about 10 years now. I’ve never really liked the sound of it. It can really shine on good pressings (80’s records, audiophile stuff) but it can deliver quite a subpar experience with newer records (I understand that’s got more to do with the record itself, newer records don’t tend to sound as good imho).
I’ve also always felt like there’s something preventing that cartridge from sound really great. It almost feels a bit muffled to me. I mean, it sounds alright, but I feel like it could do better than that. Fast forward to 2026 and I wanted to seek the opinions of humans rather than AI, as I feel like I can’t trust a machine to give me recommendations on this. I’m looking for good sound clarity, precision, warmth and detailed sound. Almost at audiophile realm but without having to spend tens of thousands on my setup lol. My budget is about €750 and I’m located in EU.
Right now I’m torn between Ortofon 2MR Black or Rega ND7/ND5. The thing is, there are no showrooms near me and I can’t test either of those so I’d like to know your opinion before I upgrade my stylus. I most listen to electronic/alternative/pop and my collection is roughly 60% new pressings and 40% older pressings. Part of me also wonders if I should just make the jump to Moving Cartridge, even though that would represent a significant upgrade. Too many questions I know, I apologise in advance for all this lol.
So what do you guys think? I really appreciate any help or feedback you might have!
My setup:
Rega Planar 3,
Rega Neo PSU MK2,
Rega Fono MM MK5,
Yamaha RX-V61 a/v receiver,
Bowers & Wilkins floorstanding speakers