thanks for all your assistance :P

do a search on this forum. there should be lots of info on recording and which carts are the best. i can tell you that when you are recording you want a cart that does not "color" the recording. you want an essentially flat frequencie response to give you the most "transparent" recording. the m35x is a pretty good cartridge (although the v15 is tops IMHO). most of the stanton and ortofon series you mentioned do boost certain frequencies of the vinyl. also, ortofon tend to cause more vinyl wear than other carts so you should probably stay away from them for recording (unless you are buying some the top end models which can range in the thousands of $$$).

thanks Feniks. I have done extensive searches but i was hoping someone with experience of BOTH carts could give me some A-B comparision information.

I bought and promptly sold again a Grado Prestige Red when I first started ripping, so I am actually looking for a slightly coloured cart, but one I like and that suits the type of music I record.

At the moment the front runner is the Stanton because the replacement styli are a LOT cheaper than the Ortofons