[MOSFET]

I know, this is totally the wrong forum, but as I know so many of you and
how helpful most all of you are, I thought, "What the heck?" before I post
the same question on home audio and audiophile sites, give my old stomping
grounds a try. So here goes....

I have an old Technics SL-B2 turntable that is in perfect shape and works
perfectly as well. I have had it for many, many years. However, it has
been relagated to a box that is kept in my attic or garage for the last 25
years. I still have my record collection going back to 1978 when I
purchased my first LP, and I accumulated records at a pretty good clip
(perhaps 2 a week) until, I would say, 1988, when EVERYTHING was switched to
CD's. Even the EP's that were the last hold-out of recordings not found on
CD, but only on vinyl, really disappeared by 1992. By '91-'93, except for
an extremelly small niche market of audiophiles (who to THIS DAY will claim
that LP's still sound better than CD's given very HIGH quality recordings,
EXPERT mastering techniques, and EXCEPTIONAL equipment used in playback).
Besides Audiophiles, DJ's continue to this day to use vinyl in clubs as
mxing one song to the next is MUCH easier than with CD's (though advances in
DJ oriented CD mixing gear with controls like BPM synchrnozation has leveled
the playing field). However, besides those two groups, NOBODY BUYS vinyl
anymore.

Anyway, I have about 400-500 LP's I was flipping through the other day and
felt nostalgic and wanted to hear some of this old stuff. However, my
turntable is just missing a headshell and cartride (stylus too, of course).
I gave it to someone (the headshell and cartride) about 10 years ago as I
thought I would NEVER want to use the turntable again, I nearly threw it out
(well, I was going to give it to the Salvation Army, same diff.)!!!!!

I have already ordered the headshell and it should be here tommorrow or the
next day.

My question is about what would give me the best bang for my buck in terms
of cartridges (with stylus, of course). I definately want to buy new as you
NEVER know how many hours a used needle may have seen. I am NOT an
audiophile NUT when it comes to my home gear (OK, a little bit) and my
turntable is certainly not one you would consider "high-end". But it's
built like a tank (surprisingly heavy) and after literally decades of
collecting dust it fired right up, by using the strobe adjustment I dialed
in the PERFECT 33 1/3 and it never wavered (wow and flutter) at all.

I have no doubt it's as good (SQ wise) as any other Technics turntable (I
know, I know, DJ's all prefer the 1200 series with direct drive, mine's belt
driven, as the 1200's can go from 0-60 MPH in like .02 seconds or some damn
thing like that). But again, sound quality wise, they all SOUND the same
(given the same cartride) and it becomes more a factor of, again, your
cartridege and stylus selection as Technics does not employ more esoteric
turntable construction (like thick glass platters, drive-motors COMPLETELY
seperated from the spinning table itself, only joined by the belt in an
attempt to COMPLETELY erradicate any motor noise that might creep in, and
EVEN MORE essoteric and complicated means of isolating ANY vibrations in the
environment or the surface the turntable is placed upon. These esoteric
turntables might empoly (to name only a few) double decker affairs where the
first part of the table is simply a vibrations absorber; different materials
employed in constructing some tables such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, REAL
glass, and so on and so on......).

Anyway, back to my original question. Do any of you out there have a
favorite cartridge maker and if so why? I don't want to spend a ridiculous
amount of money, I just want my records to sound decent as I transpose them
to MP3. I used to buy only Audio Technica cartridges as a kid as I thought
they made a very good product at a reasonable price. Is that still the
case? Are there others to consider? Like I said, I am DEINATELY looking
for a NEW cartridge and stylus, but I am not going to spend $500 on a Grado
flagship model. It MUST be under $100, preferably under $50. Like I said,
I am not all that picky about my sound inside the house (I'm pickier in the
car!).

Anyway, any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Nick