This will provide you with a mid level setup at a great price. Although we are offering this product as being a fine all-around choice for just directly enjoying records, it's also well suited for vinyl to digital archiving. Additionally, you can upgrade the needle later down the line with a 211-DHE Hyperelliptical. Presuming all you need is a cartridge, for the vast majority of average turntables, this is the recommended setup for transferring your LPs to digital without breaking the bank.
The same cartridge has been sold with and as original equipment across dozens of brands for decades now. Rest assured if a search has brought you here this is the mid-level solution for 1/2" mount turntables regardless of the brand. Spare styli can be ordered here # 211-DENG
Because this cartridge can be mounted on a headshell with two vertically mounted screws, side by side, 1/2" apart, it is known as a 1/2" mount cartridge. Other mounting characteristics are that it has 4 exposed prongs for wiring in the back and is almost never found on a linear tracking turntable.
Notes:
The headshell is the hardware attached to the end of the tonearm that is usually distinguished by the 'handle' that sticks out to the right for lifting the tonearm over to the record from the rest position. If your turntable is linear tracking it means the whole tonearm slides several inches from side to side as opposed to the standard type usually designated 'straight' or 'S shaped' which pivots on a stationary 'hub' assembly at the right rear corner of the turntable. A linear tracking turntable will generally have buttons you must operate to move the tonearm and will almost always be found with a (T4P) Pmount cartridge. (Go back up one category and click on Pmount).
Myth:
Often people think they must have a brand of cartridge that matches their turntable brand. This is totally unnecessary and often impossible to achieve these days. In fact, the vast majority of turntable manufacturers, had a third party cartridge manufacturer make the cartridge on their behalf. Also, cartridge wiring connections usually go straight to your amplifier, receiver or computer thus allowing the turntable to make no direct electrical changes to the cartridge output signal.