I’ve found myself in a bit of a dilemma and could use some advice. My Beogram 3300 came with an MMC4 cartridge that has a dead right channel This was the reason why I got the TT for only £80. The left channel actually sounds great, but the right side is completely dead and just produces a sort of ground loop buzz. I have put it up on eBay as spares atm. I do have an MMC5 from my old Beocenter 2200, but it’s definitely on its last legs. It still plays okay for now, though I need to track it at around 1.5g as the suspension is weak enough to test the turntable and maybe get a couple months more use out of it, So here are my options:

• Buy a new Tonar-branded MMC4 (which I’ve heard are essentially re-badged Soundsmith) for about £279,
• Spend around £260 to have my MMC5 rebuilt by Audio Origin, who seem to do a full refurbishment offered on eBay.

I’m really unsure which route to take. A few people have offered me NOS cartridges, but that feels risky given how the rubber components tend to dry out — I could easily end up with something no better than my current MMC5 after spending a couple of hundred quid on one. Any advice would be much appreciated. This Beogram will only ever be a second turntable for my 3500 system, but I’d like to get it sorted so it’ll last for years to come. Also what actually is the difference between the MMC4 and MMC5?