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Phono Cartridge Reviews

Nagaoka MP-150

Christiaan Punter 5 May 2021 7 Comments
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Review sample supplied by Hexagon Audio
Retail price: 379 euro incl. VAT

In this review, I will illustrate my impressions of the MP-150 using the Avid TA-3 tonearm on three different Avid turntables: the Ingenium, the Diva II SP, and the Sequel. A separate and extensive review of these turntables is in the works.

The MP-150 is very nicely packed, one might say with Japanese precision

Nagaoka Cartridges

With a hardened, low-mass tapered aluminum alloy cantilever and a Superfine elliptical diamond stylus, the MP-150 is positioned just below the middle in Nagaoka’s lineup.

Below it is the MP100 entry-level cartridge with a more basic aluminum alloy cantilever and conical diamond stylus, and above it, the MP-110 one-step up cartridge, also with an aluminum alloy cantilever but with a Superfine elliptical diamond stylus.

Above the MP-150, the MP-200 adds a Boron cantilever, the MP-300 adds a super-rigid body, and the MP-500, finally, adds a Superfine Line Contact diamond stylus.

The above and below images show part of the setup. Also used is a CH Precision A1.5 poweramp and Magico S1 MkII loudspeakers.

All Nagaoka cartridges are of the MM type, using what they refer to as a Moving Permalloy type. It’s interesting to note that, with the exception of the entry-level MP-100 and the top level MP-500, all the cartridges seem to use the same Superfine elliptical diamond stylus. Although other parameters such as cantilever material and shape and the body material certainly have an effect on the overall performance,  it is comforting to know that even the one step-up MP-110 contains an excellent stylus.

Preliminary Listening

Starting with the Avid Ingenium with the TA-1 arm (an OEM Rega RB220) and standard AVID CA-1 cartridge (which given its conical profile and overall looks is most likely actually an entry-level Audio Technica model) and at a 47kOhm setting on the CH Precision P1 phono stage, this turntable sounds considerably better than one would expect given its affordable price of 1.400 euro including the arm and cartridge: full, ballsy, and engagingly musical. But in terms of tracking precision, the turntable is clearly let down by its cartridge. No amount of running in would improve the coarse resolution and sometimes spitty sibilants.

Since this Mini review is actually a spin-off from an extensive Avid turntable review, I had 3 tonearms and 3 turntables available. The next step for that review was to see how much the 8.800 euro Sequel turntable itself would improve on the entry-level Ingenium after fitting the TA-1 arm with the standard.

For all the details, please see the actual Avid review that will appear soon. Suffice to say that the turntable itself proved to have a major impact on the overall sound, adding bass solidity, a more neutral tonality, soundstage width and depth, and flow.

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Page 1 of 3
AVID Nagaoka Rega
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Christiaan Punter Owner of Hifi-Advice.com

7 Comments

  1. Arjen says:
    11 November 2021 at 20:44

    Hi Christaan,
    Just a short comment. Great to read your review. It confirms my experiences with the Nagaoka MP300. It is mounted on a Jelco arm of a refurbqished and upgraded Lenco 76/S. Music is delivered by Lejenklou Slipsik7, Supernait 2 and Millon Phantom S speakers. I’d say this is a very fine, musically setup, detailed, dynamic, and fine bass. So MP300 give musically a real boost as it was an upgrade grom the Grado prestige Gold /basic
    Ro-ject preamp.

    Reply
  2. Arjen says:
    12 November 2021 at 00:27

    Hi Christiaan,
    Thank you for the review.
    Since spring of 2021 I play with the Nagaoka MP300. It is a very impressive cartridge in my setup. Suits very well with my refurbished, upgraded Lenco 76/S, Jelco arm and recently bought Slipsik 7.1 phono preamp. Music has been delivered by Supernait 2 and Millon Phantom S speaker.
    The Nagaoka replaced the Grado Prestige Gold. the MP300 is awsome, very well balanced with good dynamics, straffe bas, and a lot of nuance. So musically very pleasant, especially Jazz, Classical music and singer/songwriter. Maybe you get the chance to review all the MP’s.
    Arjen

    Reply
    1. Christiaan Punter says:
      12 November 2021 at 10:39

      Hi Arjen, maybe I will review more of the Nagaoka range someday but it’s not on the calendar just yet. Too many other reviews to do:-)

      Reply
  3. Jon Noyes says:
    25 May 2022 at 18:06

    The Nagaoka cartridges are not MM, they are Moving Permalloy, which is basically moving iron, much like a Grado

    Reply
    1. Christiaan Punter says:
      26 May 2022 at 08:31

      That’s a fair observation and good to note. But also note that Nagaoka themselves specify their cartridges as Moving Magnet (Permalloy). The main distinction here is that the carts have no moving coil and work with MM inputs.

      Reply
  4. Jon Noyes says:
    25 June 2022 at 03:04

    Sorry, but you’re wrong. Permalloy is a magnetic material, but it is not a magnet. The Nagaoka cartridges contain samarium/cobalt magnets that do not move. The permalloy moves much like in a moving iron cartridge. Nagaoka magnets do not move.

    Reply
  5. Dvp says:
    27 July 2022 at 00:57

    This is a true music lovers cartridge
    Rich liquid transparent expression

    Reply

Your comment Cancel reply

All comments are welcome but I regret that I no longer have the time to respond to all questions. To increase the likelihood of a response, please make sure that your question is on topic and referring to the product that was reviewed. First-time comments need to be manually approved which incurs a short delay. After the initial approval, successive comments will appear right away. Do not use links as these will automatically mark the message as spam. Your email address is required but it will not be made public.

 

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