Nagaoka MP-110 vs Ortofon 2M Red

These speakers were very difficult to find in the US as they were primarily marketed in Asia. The setup provides a very engaging sound that makes you tap your foot along to the music.

I put in the default cart (a cheap AT91) for comparison and the crackles and pops reduced, as did the quality of the sound of reproduction. I switched it back and tried more records. Again, the Red would create a great stage, but would shower it in pops and highlight any mistreatment. The run ins and run outs were quite unpleasant

There is such a spectrum of price points, that I thought going for lower of the middle of the pack would yield good results, and I am pleased so far. Although I have had great luck with the Grado Blacks I have used in the past and was considering getiing a Grado Green or Blue, this cartridge was a decent purchase for the price, and really seems to be a good value. I'm sure there is more breaking-in to do, but right away I was happy with the tracking, clarity, and stereo separation. I'm just listing to records, not back queuing or scratching, so this seems like a decent choice for quality while being able to save some $$ to buy more records :)

My budget is around 700$. I looked up some turntables and chose 2 that were looking the best for this price - Rega Planar 2 and Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO (with Ortofon 2M Red - I live in Europe). Rega Planar 2 seems to be better, since it has a glass platter and a better tonearm. The cartridge seems to be worse, tho

Mating it with the correct phono stage is important. Some phono stages, like the Emotiva, also have a slightly forward midrange and would not mate with the Nagaoka. However, more restrained phono stages, such as Pro-Jects or Schiit Mani would be a good match.

.CD or MP3's should do just fine for you, and you should save some money and not bother with turntables and vinyl. ;-)