Nagaoka - MP-150 MP Series Phono Cartridge

Where the MP series stops bonding its diamonds — a nude elliptical tip on a hardened, tapered aluminium cantilever, and the step that turns the line from budget to serious.

Two things change at once on the MP-150, and both of them are about moving mass. The diamond is mounted nude rather than bonded to a metal shank, which cuts weight at the very tip where it costs the most. The cantilever becomes a hardened, tapered aluminium alloy rather than a plain tube — tapering stiffens the root while lightening the end that has to move.

Nagaoka calls the MP-150 an ambitious piece of work and describes the result as a tight, bouncing sound with wide-band power. That is consistent with the measurements: channel separation improves to 24 dB and the cartridge holds the lighter 1.5 to 2.0 g tracking window of the models above it. Output drops slightly to 4.5 mV, still far more than any moving-magnet stage will struggle with.

Like the rest of the range it takes the standard 47 kΩ load with 100 pF of capacitance, and the stylus assembly comes off for replacement with the genuine JN-P150 rather than requiring a new cartridge. The MP-150 has been a repeat winner of the Japanese VGP award in the Pure Audio category.

Features

• 0.4 × 0.7 mil nude elliptical diamond — mounted nude, not bonded, for lower tip mass
• Hardened tapered aluminium-alloy cantilever
• Moving Permalloy generator — magnets and coils stay fixed inside the body
• 4.5 mV output into a standard 47 kΩ moving magnet input
• 24 dB channel separation; 1.5 dB channel balance
• User-replaceable stylus assembly — genuine Nagaoka JN-P150
• Repeated winner of the Japanese VGP award in the Pure Audio category
• Also available pre-mounted on a Nagaoka headshell as the MP-150H

Specifications

• Type: MP (Moving Permalloy) stereo cartridge
• Output Voltage: 4.5 mV at 5 cm/sec
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
• Channel Separation: 24 dB at 1 kHz
• Channel Balance: 1.5 dB or less
• Stylus: 0.4 × 0.7 mil nude elliptical diamond
• Cantilever: Hardened tapered aluminium alloy
• Tracking Force: 1.5 – 2.0 g
• Load Resistance: 47 kΩ
• Load Capacitance: 100 pF
• Cartridge Weight: 6.5 g
• Replacement Stylus: Nagaoka JN-P150
• Mounting: Half inch (1/2") standard mount
• In the Box: Cartridge body, stylus cover, cartridge case, accessory set (headshell mounting screws, washers, nuts, screwdriver), instruction manual
• Origin: Made in Japan
• Not Published: Nagaoka does not publish a compliance figure, tracking ability, or a recommended tonearm effective mass for the MP series