The Pioneer came fitted with a Shure M75ED moving-magnet cartridge, which was a suitably decent partner for the deck. And of course, regardless of the high-end package I picked, it had to be complemented by a suitable moving-coil cartridge. Ortofon's excellent MC X30, a fine example of an affordable moving coil (Image credit: What Hi-Fi?) But there is a less obvious, and arguably even greater hurdle: the quality of the partnering phono stage. A cartridge such as the Ortofon MC X30 is great, as long as the partnering phono stage and system are good enough to reveal that.