Cartridges

At Glenn Poor’s, we believe that the first stage in analogue playback is extremely important. Without a quality stylus tracking the groove of a record, a well-designed cartridge to pickup the signal, and a cartridge with compliance and output that is well-matched to the tonearm and phono pre-amp, you simply won’t get good sound. We carry a range of brands that span the entry-level to the best-of-the-best. We are able to set you up with exactly the right cartridge for your specific system and budget, and dial in the alignment to ensure proper tracking.

BENZ MICRO: Founded in the 1980s and manufactured by hand in Switzerland, these cartridges are beautifully designed and state-of-the-art. Their line spans the range from entry level moving magnet to exotic, high-end moving coil. They are a powerhouse

BENZ MICRO: Founded in the 1980s and manufactured by hand in Switzerland, these cartridges are beautifully designed and state-of-the-art. Their line spans the range from entry level moving magnet to exotic, high-end moving coil. They are a powerhouse that is worth checking out if you are in the market for a quality phono cartridge

CLEARAUDIO: The goal of high-end analogue is to perfectly merge technology, workmanship and design and subordinate them to one single target: the best possible music reproduction. At Clearaudio, all development, design and production remain firmly in

CLEARAUDIO: The goal of high-end analogue is to perfectly merge technology, workmanship and design and subordinate them to one single target: the best possible music reproduction. At Clearaudio, all development, design and production remain firmly in the hands of a perfectly experienced and attuned team of specialists who never lose sight of that goal, and who uphold the Clearaudio philosophy and high quality standards. This is true for their turntables as much as it is for their excellent cartridges that pair well with their very sensitive tone-arms.

EUROPEAN AUDIO TEAM: Owing to the vision and leadership of owner Jozefina Lichtenegger, EAT puts music first with everything they do. Their great analogue products--including turntables, tonearms, amplifiers, and even vacuum tubes--are designed to re

EUROPEAN AUDIO TEAM: Owing to the vision and leadership of owner Jozefina Lichtenegger, EAT puts music first with everything they do. Their great analogue products--including turntables, tonearms, amplifiers, and even vacuum tubes--are designed to reproduce the “meaning and spirit” of the original recording as close as possible. The EAT design style is unmistakable and sure to be a talking point, but even more importantly, the sound of their phono pickups is crystal clear and wonderfully musical.

GOLD NOTE: For us, Gold Note represents a lifestyle brand with a full suite of products from the front to back end. The first stage in the process of musical reproduction, at least for vinyl playback, is the phono cartridge. Therefore, Gold Note has

GOLD NOTE: For us, Gold Note represents a lifestyle brand with a full suite of products from the front to back end. The first stage in the process of musical reproduction, at least for vinyl playback, is the phono cartridge. Therefore, Gold Note has spent a great deal of time and effort (not to mention R&D budget) designing a suite of phono pickups that fit a wide variety of needs and budgets, including the top-of-the-line. They have a beautiful and sophisticated sound and represent the finest in Italian craftsmanship.

GRADO: Grado Labs was founded by Joseph Grado (1924-2015) in 1953 in Brooklyn. Over the past 61 years, Grado has become famous for their remarkable headphone and phono cartridge designs. Joseph Grado is responsible for more innovations in phono cartr

GRADO: Grado Labs was founded by Joseph Grado (1924-2015) in 1953 in Brooklyn. Over the past 61 years, Grado has become famous for their remarkable headphone and phono cartridge designs. Joseph Grado is responsible for more innovations in phono cartridge design than any other person in our lifetime, inventing the stereo moving coil phono cartridge and holding more than 48 patents.

HANA: When an OEM house distributes their own brand, they reserve their best efforts for themselves and Excel is no exception. Hana, translated as “brilliant and gorgeous” represents Excel’s best materials including alnico magnets, cross-shaped armat

HANA: When an OEM house distributes their own brand, they reserve their best efforts for themselves and Excel is no exception. Hana, translated as “brilliant and gorgeous” represents Excel’s best materials including alnico magnets, cross-shaped armatures, and proprietary manufacturing processes. They have excelled at creating MC cartridges noted worldwide for their sound and value, which retain their “musical magic” regardless of their phono stage pairing.

KOETSU: Koetsu cartridges are considered by many the standard in high-end phono cartridges. Lavish in appearance and astounding in performance, Koetsu products offer unmatched tonal balance, uncanny imaging, and detail beyond your highest expectation

KOETSU: Koetsu cartridges are considered by many the standard in high-end phono cartridges. Lavish in appearance and astounding in performance, Koetsu products offer unmatched tonal balance, uncanny imaging, and detail beyond your highest expectations.

LYRA: Lyra’s exquisite phono cartridges are the beautiful result of a collaboration between a remarkable trio: Jonathan Carr, the American conceptualizer and designer, Yoshinori Mishima, the Japanese master-craftsman whose watchful eye ensures state-

LYRA: Lyra’s exquisite phono cartridges are the beautiful result of a collaboration between a remarkable trio: Jonathan Carr, the American conceptualizer and designer, Yoshinori Mishima, the Japanese master-craftsman whose watchful eye ensures state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly, and Norwegian Stig Bjorge, the business head, who ties the enterprise together. All three share an intense passion for audio and are fanatical about creating and producing the most advanced possible phono cartridges. This Tokyo-based team not only lives on the frontier of design and manufacturing, they are constantly moving that frontier forward.

ORTOFON: Today, Ortofon is a fine mechanical powerhouse, which develops, manufactures and markets the world acclaimed Ortofon cartridges and components for the hearing aids industry. The company has always been working with sound reproduction. Founde

ORTOFON: Today, Ortofon is a fine mechanical powerhouse, which develops, manufactures and markets the world acclaimed Ortofon cartridges and components for the hearing aids industry. The company has always been working with sound reproduction. Founded in Copenhagen, it initially made soundtracks for movies. In 1948 Ortofon developed its first moving coil cartridge, since then more than 300 different cartridges have been developed and manufactured, with our latest being MC A95 Anniversary cartridge.

REGA: Known for their top-of-the line turntables, since the early 1980s Rega has been selling quality phono cartridges to pair with their decks. Currently they have 6 moving magnet and 3 moving coil designs, all hand-made by Rega with custom coil win

REGA: Known for their top-of-the line turntables, since the early 1980s Rega has been selling quality phono cartridges to pair with their decks. Currently they have 6 moving magnet and 3 moving coil designs, all hand-made by Rega with custom coil winding techniques and ultra high precision one-piece molded bodies--a material called Pocan, an ultra-hard polymer. Rega’s design philosophy is all about tuning the different components in a turntable in order to reduce noise and eliminate discontinuity in vibration. Their cartridges follow a similar philosophy and have no joints between the stylus mounting and the face of the headshell, greatly reducing the loss in high-frequency energy by the small movements usually generated in such joints. This makes for an incredibly detailed sound.

SOUNDSMITH: Handmade in the USA, Soundsmith cartridges provide excellent build quality and sonic detail. Their fixed-coil design results in an incredibly low-mass cantilever which in turn produces less audible resonance, more detail, less azimuth dri

SOUNDSMITH: Handmade in the USA, Soundsmith cartridges provide excellent build quality and sonic detail. Their fixed-coil design results in an incredibly low-mass cantilever which in turn produces less audible resonance, more detail, less azimuth drift, and greater rebuildability and damage tolerance than many other cartridges on the market. In fact, Soundsmith cartridges can rebuilt for 20% or less of the MSRP--a rare ability among cartridge manufacturers. This makes Soundsmith pickups a great investment that will keep tracking for many years.

SUMIKO: Sumiko is another brand that produces a full suite of cartridges from entry-level Oyster moving magnet designs to Low Output Moving Coil Reference models--handmade in Japan since 1972. Sumiko focuses on excellent craftsmanship and quality and

SUMIKO: Sumiko is another brand that produces a full suite of cartridges from entry-level Oyster moving magnet designs to Low Output Moving Coil Reference models--handmade in Japan since 1972. Sumiko focuses on excellent craftsmanship and quality and stunning playback detail--with nearly half a century of engineering experience, you cannot go wrong with a Sumiko phono pickup.