Would a Ortofon 2M Red be a noticeable upgrade from a AT95E?

MusicDirector

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I have a Pioneer PL510A in my vintage system that was running an AT95E before a mishap resulting in a bent cantilever, so I need a new cart.
I was thinking of getting another AT95E because I find them to perform well above the price, but I also wonder if an Ortofon 2M Red would be a noticeable upgrade? I have a 2M Bronze on my Denon in my main system and I'm not all that impressed by it. It does fine, but nothing that is really notable. It's a $400 cart (which to me is extremely expensive) and performs probably like a $200 cart I would guess. There is only a very subtle difference between the Bronze and my AT95E which has the Bronze being slightly better.
So should I get another AT95E or a Ortofon 2M Red or a different cart up to the $100 mark or around that?
 
i just heard one of these on a what i guess was 40 year old table, and i couldnt believe it was sounding so good for a $100 turntable and a $120 cartridge. its a grado blue 1 prestige . and the stylus is replaceable if you bend it. not that i know if its better than the at9 or the ortofons in that range, or really anything about them. but it just sounded real sweet for a couple hundred $ setup. i was impressed.
Grado-Black1-Prestige-Series-Phono-Cartridges-Standard-Mount-image.gif
 
i just heard one of these on a what i guess was 40 year old table, and i couldnt believe it was sounding so good for a $100 turntable and a $120 cartridge. its a grado blue 1 prestige . and the stylus is replaceable if you bend it. not that i know if its better than the at9 or the ortofons in that range, or really anything about them. but it just sounded real sweet for a couple hundred $ setup. i was impressed.
Hmm, $120, not bad. You know, it's about time I try a Grado and I have heard that they do rather well on legacy turntables. I'll look into this.
 
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