Nagaoka MP-500 vs Nagaoka MP-300 cartridge

In the golden years of audio, enthusiasts had the opportunity to listen to various equipment prior to making a vital purchase decision. Nowadays that is not possible with the scarcity of audio shops, Covid-19, and the cessation of listening opportunities at audio stores.
Thus the rationale for LP GEAR's comparative videos.
In this video, we have devised for you to listen to two of the top Nagaoka cartridges within the MP series: The ultimate Nagaoka MP-500, a Stereophile recommended cartridge for many years, and the penultimate MP-300. To eliminate volume bias, we adjusted the output volume to be the same for all cartridges.
Notes: When the line was first introduced, we auditioned these two cartridges. Along with the Hiroshi Teramura, then Nagaoka manager and former symphony conductor, we favored the MP-300 for its musical accuracy and prowess. Fast forward to the present, we have reversed our positioning. Both offer sound excellence as exhibited in the video. They are technically adept and artistic as the former orchestra conductor who developed the cartridge series. In terms of audience captivation, the MP-300 is the underachiever, a consequence - we think - of its position as the second to the top. It's easily being bypassed being second even though it's really very close to the first. Also, the MP-500 reproduces with better exuberance the vitality, energy and sound stage of the recorded music, creating thus a noticeably captivating and preferable musical experience.
Comments?

[@scottdavis0801]

I own the Nagaoka mp-200, and will definitely be looking at the mp-500! Jazz records sound incredible!!

[@socksumi]

Weightier bass, more focus and air to the top octave along with better instrument separation and grainless refinement, especially on heavily modulated passages go the the MP500. I was hoping there wouldn't be much difference but there in especially listening long term. Good as the MP300 is the MP500 is quite a bit better.

[@gerardoromano3436]

This is a great video. Well done, you used the inner groove, thats essential , IGD, tracking habillity and sound quality are the most important parameters in Carts, few people know the shortcomings in an innger groove. Grat job!

[@ewmcdade]

I just upgraded my MP-300 to the 500 stylus. Immediately noticeable improvement. Better tracking, same smooth midrange and treble but with much more extension and air around instruments. Enormous upgrade for the price paid - totally worth it.

[@JumbleTasteSpinning]

Good to know. I have the MP200 and i'm really in to the MP500.

[@daveyurkovich9459]

I have the 150. It’s pretty good, however the high frequency sparkle is nill. After reading many comments it’s pretty much how it is. I was beginning to wonder if there was a problem with the stylus etc. so your happy with the 500? What types of music are you listening to? Appreciate your feedback.

[@scottspencer4018]

I added a JN-P500 stylus to my MP150 and noticed a huge improvement. Much cleaner top end, along with just about everything else. Nice upgrade IMHO.

[@dwfineart]

The MP-500 seems to have more bass where the MP-300 seems to have more midrange.. a better comparison would be with jazz or accoustic guitar music where we could hear more frequency range.

[@rickseneris]

I own an MP 200 and an MP 500. Yes, the MP 500 has the deepest and firmest bass compared to all the cartridges I've had the opportunity to have.

[@dovb2309]

Thank you for the comparison uploads, they are super useful but it would have been great if they were in stereo, it's kind of bizarre they are not...

[@dr5film]

Even with crappy sound on the phone/KZbin, the 500 outshines

[@nigelmasters8552]

Interesting comparison, allowing for the limitations of YT. The MP500 is very slightly brighter/cleaner than the MP300, however I believe the 300 can be upgraded to the 500 by the change of stylus therefore it would make sense to purchase the 300. Perhaps you can confirm this. A similar situation exists with the Ortofon 2M Bronze to the Black. In the UK the Nagaoka cartridges are expensive across the range although very well regarded.

[@deepgrooved]

yes, but that upgrade cost negates any cost savings.

[@jeanrompre9497]

Thank you very much for the upload! I have one question : at 2:19 at the switch between the 2 cartridges, I've noticed that the azimuths were not exactly the same. Do you think that this could do affect the performance of one of the cartridges? Personally, I like the warmth and richness of the low mids better on the 500.

[@utub1473]

That should only really affect the width of the stereo image... I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure about that

[@Lasse3]

The MP500 is an extremely small fine-line cut, I can barely find the stylus-tip under a microscope, it's highly sensitive to miss alignment and impropper SRA / VTA. If you're not perfect it will sound bad, unlike elliptical or spherical which is much more forgiving. The MP300 aswell as the MP200 / MP150 are simply old fashion elliptical cuts. Elliptical stylus won't go deep in the groove - therefore proper alignment is less critical. What we are listening to here, is obviously a poorly aligned MP500, The MP500 fine-line contact stylus is much more broadbanded than the Elliptical MP300. It has higher extension at both ends of the spectrum, and can deliver much more subtle details, and much more forceful impacts - as a fine-line should, afterall the contact surface with the groove walls of these types of styli is much larger. This video was bogus afterall, the same thing is occurring with the Ortofon 2M Black, with it's extreme Shibata cut, which is highly dependable on perfect alignment. As a result people who should not own a turntable, purchases the expensive Shibata stylus, and wouldn't be able to do a Bearwald or Stevenson alignment if their lives deepened on it. And yeah que the forums, people actually saying they prefer the bronze to the black, My advice to newbs, go conial or spherical, stay away from the fine cuts, they are sharp and you will get cut. If you blindly install a cartridge, simply relying on 52mm overhang, not using any form of protractor, not understanding compliance vs effective mass, the simpler stylus shapes are bound to sound best.

[@zogzog1063]

Interesting. Do you recommend any particular elliptical Moving coils? I am thinking Hana EL or AT OC9XEN - anything else for a Technics SL1210?

[@Lasse3]

@@zogzog1063 get a moving coil Sumiko BluePoint EVO special 3. Best return of investment imo, not an expensive cart, but punches outside it's price category. Exists in both high output and low output Large airy soundstage with a very rich and neutral tonal balance.

[@zogzog1063]

I think the primary difference is the stylus profile. My question is whether the 500 was more difficult to set up?

[@mikedenallo6997]

Any plans to shootout London decca line- super gold vs jubilee vs... great videos thanks

[@MacXpert74]

Something went wrong with the sound recording in this video. The sound is Mono instead of Stereo. This obviously also affects the perceived sound quality quite a bit.

[@johnsweda2999]

Did you try swapping around the stylus for each cartridge and what sort of outcome did you get? I thought I'd prefer the 300 but people say bass is better on the 500? would this achieve the same bass if you had the 300 on the 500 with a better mid-range??

[@uncletoma]

Both amazing, and i well know DSOTMff

[@devastor99]

I love my MP-300 on my Elac Miracord 90.

[@fendergibs]

Any dealers in the states for this brand ?

[@lachleutenettmenschen6498]

Did anyone actually notice that the audio is MONO?

[@Geoff0711]

Has anyone else noticed the blindingly obvious that there is quite a visible difference in the Azimuth set up between these two?? Interesting non the less - I would also like to hear vs MP200 as well

[@dulichion]

the mp-300 is canted to one side too.

[@papabear1417]

A slightly warped record being stressed at its centre by a clamp. The stress pattern is altering the sound and putting the bearing failing early.

[@tomhaydon6651]

Ortofon Turbo 3 OR Audio Technica AT33PTG/2 My Nagaoka 200 is in the box in my drawer after 150 hours on it . It sounds boring compared to these other two..

[@narkspud691]

These videos would be a lot more helpful if they were in stereo.

[@audio_guy]

The Left Channel info is presented in Glorious Mono for us. I would expect better from LP Gear !

[@jonathanthomas4722]

The black cartridge has more open top and fuller bass. This could lead to people thinking the kids are softer, but they are not. The black cart is just superior. However, I do think a good acoustic record, a jazz record we all know, perhaps Kind of Blue Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard, would be a better way to compare. Or, just easier! lol. Nice job, though! I use a Nagaoka MP200 (purple) as my daily cartridge. Love Nagaoka!

[@strawwoodclaw]

I've got the mp500 , in this video the mp300 sounds better to me

[@neandrewthal]

Something is wrong with that audio, far more than the youtube compression.

[@ralfhenke8148]

Just what I thought. Both cartridges don't sound anywhere close to their true abilities. It's all a big mess. Would have expected MUCH better from a channel like LPgear :-( ...

[@jackflackatari]

Mono

[@Uygkuyfkutfkytfkutfv]

Yeah, it’s prog rock.

[@robertleeluben]

I kind of think it might be inner groove distortion and the carts are not perfectly aligned. That's just conjecture though.

[@neandrewthal]

@@robertleeluben Thank God I've gone fully digital.

[@tonyklothos7093]

The midrange sounds better because the bottom end is missing. It’s a trick of the mind. Obviously the MP-500 is better in every which way.

[@marcb8874]

merci , vu les critiques dans tout genres dessous , je n'ai pas trouvé de différences , pourtant écouté plusieurs fois le passage entre les deux . on parle aussi des enregistrements des vinyles, US , DE , j'ai acheté un "the dark side ...." remastered pour ma fille et je n'ai pas vu de différence avec mon vinyle de 75, je dois avoir des écoutes (oreilles très abimées )

[@andreaslandgren1472]

Np11 with mp500 on it here as well.

[@analogaudiorules1724]

Do you sell a custom microline stylus for these? On their page. i didn't see one, so if they really don't offer one, it would be absolutely AMAZING if you could make a nude miroline/micro ridge for these, also why didn't you use a interface to record the audio directly from your phono preamp so we could actually hear the quality of the cart, this comparison is useleess and lacks all forms of detail as you used a cheap mic for this, di it next time.......

[@utub1473]

I can't lie, I prefer the MP300. It's just more engaging.

[@paultopace1234]

I have heard the Nagaoka Boss favourite cartridge is the MP300

[@robertleeluben]

I know you don't want to pirate music but I'm sure many of us out here would appreciate some uncompressed samples, maybe just a few segments on both carts at a decent 24 bit 48khz+ sample rate.

[@robertpincus6528]

Could you help us, or at least me, telling me which pressing of DSOM you are using. The differences between Mobile Fidelity, UK, German, and US pressings, are far greater than the sound of these 2 cartridges. W/o this info this demo is moot.

[@robertpincus6528]

Hey Carson, I worked in the biz, and I know Bernie. He never cut DSOP. Perhaps you are confusing him with my good friend, Kevin Gray, who did cut DSOP, w/help from the late Doug Sax.

[@robertpincus6528]

Oh yaw. I don't mind being corrected. So many DSOPS and they all sound incredibly different. It's really wrong to post a cartridge comparison using an unidentified DSOP. It kind-a makes this fun video moot. Also, the LP cut by Kevin was from the original analog source. That matters to us grey haired guys.

[@glennewdick]

@@robertpincus6528 not really as your comparing the same recoding on both so regardless of the mastering you hear the differences good and bad, even thought the recording is (is/may not be) not necessarily perfect, your not evaluating the recording but the cart on the same recording.

[@robertpincus6528]

Not if any of the samples are flawed, as many reissues are.

[@misterprog8365]

MP300 for me

[@gerardoromano3436]

This is MONO ??

[@joey1127]

Hmmmm, neither cartridge seems to be very well suited to Rock music. Seems more refined and as if they would shine on Jazz or even Acoustic music??

[@analogaudiorules1724]

Since youtubes audio is horribly compressed, it'll be really hard to hear the fine details of these

[@LucasSantos-fs4gs]

Mono audio :(

[@maciomuciacio6538]

I prefer more natural yet dynamic sound of MP-500. Much better than 300.

[@TheAlexwar]

a

[@undress62]

Both sounds pretty bad to me. Don’t know why, both are excellent cartridges.

[@drewv1785]

Yeah this video sounds terrible.

[@josejlfb]

I can't hear any difference 😢😢😢

[@user-fx3qq1yq2r]

To my ears, i don't like both. The 500 appears mid centric and the 300 cd like Nothing special. Maybe it's the song

[@rickseneris]

Fine, but I believe you should have used a better album with lots of instruments. Your album doesn't do the MP 500 justice. Nothing personal, but if you listen to that kind of an album you just wasted your money on a premium cartridge.

[@Lasse3]

Yeah Dark side is a waste of a premium cartridge (wait what?)

[@juandv930722]

@@Lasse3 yeah one of the most successful albums ever by one of the most iconic bands ever sure is a waste isn´t it?

[@Lasse3]

@@juandv930722 ...unenlightened people these days 😅😅

[@juandv930722]

@@Lasse3 I swear...

[@utub1473]

@@juandv930722 And a very great sounding album too!

[@rfc4172]

300 a bit more open. All in all, this pressing does not seem to be the best to perform a revealing comparison.

[@bobbyhenneberger9219]

neither

[@mmmbbq]

Good lord, what a mess. Get it together LPGear. Delete this and start over. Sounds like you recorded it from an AM radio.

[@TheAlexwar]

a