What cartridge is the best for Serato?
I was looking into the S-120s but damn they’re expensive. Anyone got any advice?
Stanton or Shure.
Both are tried, tested and proven. I have both and don’t really have a preference.
Both are great.
I use Shure Whitelables but I hardly ever (attempt) to scratch, Shure M44-7s seem to be the most widely recommended
Shure Whitelabels are a little over the top if you’re only playing with a DVS. They are great cartridges and sound really good, but since the sound quality is the main reason for the price differene between them and the M44-7s, and sound quality of the cartridge isn’t an issue with DVS, using Whitelabels for timecode is really a waste of money.
The requirements for cartridges for use with DVS are:
- High output (so the software gets a good, clear signal)
- Low record wear (so your timecode records last longer)
- Low skippin (if you scratch)
The cartride which offers the best combination of those three features is definitely the Shure M44-7, which happens also to be really cheap.
I’ll just drop this here… 
M44-7s (or the MF7s) are really all you need for DVS.
Funny that you mention the S-120s; I just picked a pair on eBay, used but only for a couple of hours.
They are AMAZING. Super loud output, and the best tracking I’ve ever experienced.
But, they’re so ludicrously expensive. I got my pair so cheap that I can almost treat them as disposable, but when they wear out I’ll probably just be back to buying 44-7 or MF7 styli. I can’t be spending a small fortune on styli.
Interesting…
I didn’t even know about these new Ortofon carts. Just read a review on skratchworkx, and it seems like the only downside of these is the sound quality, especially of the MF7. Since this is a no-issue with DVS, they seem like a really good alternative.
Check out the audio A-B test in the video description.
They actually sound pretty good IMO. Certainly as good as the 44-7 (which of course aren’t the best to start with though).
Ah you guys are legends and may have just saved me a load of cash. The 44-7s go for about 1/3 of the price of the Ortofons and I use them with Serato.
Yeah they probably are a bit overkill for timecode but I bought them a few year before I started using Serato so they’v had there fair share of vinyl spun with them. Stylus’ are also only £25 and low record wear probably makes my timecode vinyl last longer, I’v never experienced cue burn on any TC vinyl with them.
m447s…all u need for a clean signal in serato.