Nagaoka - MP-200H MP Series Phono Cartridge with Headshell

The boron-cantilever MP-200 — What Hi-Fi?'s Best Cartridge over £250 for 2024 — supplied factory-mounted and aligned on a Nagaoka headshell.

The cartridge is the standalone MP-200 unchanged, and the reason to reach for it is the cantilever. Boron is far stiffer than aluminium for its weight, so it passes on what the diamond finds without flexing and adding a signature of its own. Nagaoka's own claim is that the groove is traced accurately as a result, and the company characterises the presentation as calm and richly coloured, with reverberation impressively expressed.

Response extends to 23 kHz where the models below stop at 20 kHz, and channel separation reaches 25 dB. Output is 4 mV into a standard 47 kΩ moving-magnet input with 100 pF of capacitance.

The H version saves you the alignment. Nagaoka mounts and aligns the cartridge in the headshell at the factory; you fit the shell to the arm and set tracking force. Arm-specific settings — tracking force, anti-skate, overhang — still want checking during setup. Total weight with the headshell is 16.5 g.

Features

• MP-200 cartridge factory-mounted on a genuine Nagaoka headshell
• Fits any tonearm with a standard removable SME-style headshell connector
• Boron cantilever with a 0.4 × 0.7 mil nude elliptical diamond
• Response extended to 23 kHz; 25 dB channel separation
• 4 mV output into a standard 47 kΩ moving magnet input
• What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024 — Best Cartridge over £250
• User-replaceable stylus assembly — genuine Nagaoka JN-P200

Specifications

• Type: MP (Moving Permalloy) stereo cartridge, pre-mounted on a headshell
• Output Voltage: 4 mV at 5 cm/sec
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 23,000 Hz
• Channel Separation: 25 dB at 1 kHz
• Channel Balance: 1.5 dB or less
• Stylus: 0.4 × 0.7 mil nude elliptical diamond
• Cantilever: Boron
• Tracking Force: 1.5 – 2.0 g
• Load Resistance: 47 kΩ
• Load Capacitance: 100 pF
• Total Weight with Headshell: 16.5 g (Nagaoka; the US dealer price list rounds this to 16 g)
• Cartridge Weight Alone: 6.5 g
• Replacement Stylus: Nagaoka JN-P200
• Fitting: Standard removable SME-style headshell connector
• Origin: Made in Japan
• Note: Tracking force, overhang and other tonearm-specific settings should still be checked during setup