The Ortofon OM5E was a coveted, medium level, standard half-inch cartridge supplied as original equipment on finer turntables. Sure you can get cheaper entry-level cartridges, but the great thing we love about this cartridge is that you can 'try out' the Ortofon sound with an elliptical needle (not often found on entry levels), then later, if you so choose, you can upgrade just the needle to any quality level found in our 'Related Products" section at the bottom of this page. This will effectively upgrade you to a 'hybrid' type Ortofon "OM10", "OM20", "OM30" or "OM40" and is particularly easy to do since the needle slides onto the front of the cartridge. (Note that the OM5E is not in the "super" cartridge line for the 10,20,30 & 40 with somewhat better cartridge based internal specs.) It includes a mounted genuine Ortofon Stylus 5E needle. We inspect and pack it here at TurntableNeedles.com in our branded, snap box with extra foam protection along with our mounting hardware.
Here you will find a very detailed OM5E review.