Nagaoka - Jeweltone JT-80LB MM Phono Cartridge

Lapis Blue — a true moving-magnet cartridge from a company famous for not building them, and the first all-new Nagaoka cartridge family in roughly forty years.

Everything else Nagaoka makes is Moving Permalloy: magnets and coils fixed in the body, a light permalloy element riding the cantilever. Jeweltone is not that. Introduced for the company's 80th anniversary in 2020, the JT-80 series uses a conventional moving-magnet generator, designed from the ground up rather than adapted from an MP body. It is a genuine alternative to the MP line rather than another rung on the same ladder — the same diamonds, the same cantilever expertise, a different operating principle.

The JT-80LB is the more forgiving of the two. It pairs an aluminium cantilever with a bonded elliptical diamond and a high 5.0 mV output, which Nagaoka aimed at an energetic, wide-range presentation at an approachable price. That output figure is worth noting: at 5.0 mV this will drive any moving-magnet phono stage comfortably, including the built-in stages on integrated amplifiers.

Nagaoka publishes a dynamic compliance figure for the Jeweltone cartridges — 7.3 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne — which it does not do for the MP series. That is a medium-compliance figure, suiting medium-mass tonearms. The cartridge tracks at a light 1.3 to 1.8 g and weighs 6.9 g.

The JT-80 series has been recognised with a Good Design Award.

Features

• True moving-magnet generator, designed from scratch — not an adapted MP body
• 0.4 × 0.7 mil bonded elliptical diamond on an aluminium-alloy cantilever
• High 5.0 mV output — comfortable with any MM phono stage, including those built into integrated amps
• 23 dB channel separation; 1.5 dB channel balance
• Dynamic compliance published at 7.3 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne
• Light 1.3 – 1.8 g tracking force
• User-replaceable stylus assembly — genuine Nagaoka JTS-80LB
• Introduced for Nagaoka's 80th anniversary; JT-80 series holds a Good Design Award

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet (MM) stereo cartridge
• Output Voltage: 5.0 mV at 5 cm/sec
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
• Channel Separation: 23 dB at 1 kHz
• Channel Balance: 1.5 dB or less
• Stylus: 0.4 × 0.7 mil bonded elliptical diamond
• Cantilever: Aluminium alloy
• Dynamic Compliance: 7.3 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne
• Tracking Force: 1.3 – 1.8 g
• Load Resistance: 47 kΩ
• Load Capacitance: 100 pF
• Cartridge Weight: 6.9 g
• Colour: Lapis Blue
• Replacement Stylus: Nagaoka JTS-80LB
• Mounting: Half inch (1/2") standard mount
• Released: 20 November 2020
• Origin: Made in Japan