How hard is it to swap a 2m red stylus to 2m blue?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Opeth, Nov 21, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Opeth

    Opeth Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NH
    I have the itch and want to check out a 2m blue, I am probably about 500 hours on the red and enjoy it very much but I am thinking about trying the blue. Is it as easy as just it looks? Just remove the whole red plastic housing and snap on the blue?

    I have never messed with anything like this and from my understanding the same cart can be used on these.
    Tracking force is about as technical as I have delved into this debut carbons setup and it has been pretty flawless so far. Any advice or warnings or do's and don'ts would be appreciated.
     
  2. Antares

    Antares Forum Resident

    Location:
    Flanders
    Yep, there's a little recessed edge on the sides where the stylus meets the body, where you can hook your thumbnail to gently pull it off.
     
    crispi and Opeth like this.
  3. Opeth

    Opeth Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NH
    So is it worth the $200 over the red?
     
  4. Antares

    Antares Forum Resident

    Location:
    Flanders
    It ain't cheap, that's for sure. There's one here that's been staring me in the eye this past year, but I've resisted so far. I thought AT offered better bang for the buck as I already had one, but if you're committed to that cartridge I suppose it's a sensible upgrade.
     
    Opeth likes this.
  5. gwynne61

    gwynne61 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wales
    The blue I found to be a massive improvement over the red, just offered more of everything good.
     
  6. Opeth

    Opeth Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NH
    are you using a debut carbon also?
     
  7. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Hi

    Easy as. Grab the top of your styli with thumb and index finger, pull towards yourself with the slight downward pressure. It should come off easily. I upgraded from red to blue. Significant improvement. No sibilance, great tracker. Money well spent. Cheers.
     
    Opeth likes this.
  8. The Good Guy

    The Good Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Hi I bought a 2M blue to replace a 2M red . It is worth it . Cleaner treble , better stereo. As the others say like the red but more so.
     
    Opeth likes this.
  9. Opeth

    Opeth Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NH
    thanks all keep the experiences coming
     
  10. DannyC

    DannyC Forum Resident

    2m blue is a big improvement over the red.. more relaxed - better floor noise - better at both ends.. For the difference in cost I would skip the red.
     
  11. Colin M

    Colin M Forum Resident

    It's certainly worth the $117 price differential... But, then, I went straight to the Bronze on my Carbon Debut Esprit SB.
     
    Opeth likes this.
  12. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    You know what's going to happen right? Eventually you'll go to the Bronze/Black combo. I would save up a few more $$$ and then make the leap to Bronze, a good audio store should be able to check the status of your Red stylus.
     
    Opeth likes this.
  13. dianos

    dianos Forum Resident

    Location:
    The North
    Had the Blue. Great cart. Now have Bronze. Definitely better. But I believe the step between Red and Blue is the biggest and well worth it.
     
    Gordon Johnson and Opeth like this.
  14. Kitlope

    Kitlope Forum Resident

    I've had the Red, Blue and Bronze, in that order all in the last 3 years. The first 2 were on the Project Debut and the Bronze was installed by the dealer when I picked up my new Project 2Xperience Acryl in July. Each upgrade has sounded better, but the most revealing was the red to the blue. After some hours, when the Blue starts to shine, it's downright amazing. Bang for your buck one of the best cartridges out there. The red always had a certain edge and harshness that just never went away in the 5 months I used it, it quickly became obvious the blue was a massive step up in sound.

    I have the bronze today and as wonderful as it is, I definitely have a soft spot for the blue probably because of the much lower asking price. You won't regret going with it.
     
    Sean Sandoval, GetHappy!! and Opeth like this.
  15. mdphunk

    mdphunk Sharing in the groove

    Location:
    Northern VA
    This thread inspired me to upgrade my Red to Blue today. It was an extremely easy upgrade. Literally took me less than a minute to take the Red off and put the Blue on.

    I won't speak to overall sound quality improvement yet so I can let it burn in, but it does sound better. However, the main reason I got it was to eliminate the sibilance and inner groove distortion that were bothering me with the Red on. WOW does the Blue smoke the Red in this area. Stairway on the new Zeppelin IV reissue was practically unlistenable before and now sounds amazing.

    I highly, highly recommend this upgrade, and I've only been using it for 45 minutes.
     
    Ash76, gfong, Rick58 and 3 others like this.
  16. Colin M

    Colin M Forum Resident

    Just had one lying around ha!
     
  17. Rob9874

    Rob9874 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    Man, now I need to upgrade from Red to Blue. Thanks a lot. Would you recommend getting the whole cartridge over just swapping out the stylus? And where's the best place to buy it?
     
    Opeth likes this.
  18. Opeth

    Opeth Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NH
    This is exactly what I needed to hear concerning the sibilance and IGD you made my night and happy to your inspiration !

    I will be ordering all my stuff from needle doctor. Actually laugh if you want but my mom is buying me the stylus for christmas lol, HEY she asked me what I wanted and she said it was within her "budget" I love my mom !
     
    Sean Sandoval and Rick58 like this.
  19. drapes

    drapes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal, QC
    Just swap the stylus. The cartridge of the blue and red are identical.
     
    In-Absentia, JL6161, mdphunk and 3 others like this.
  20. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    Wow! Great Mom !!! Merry Christmas !!!

    I only have experience with upgrading my old (~1981) Empire LTD-400 cartridge (purple stylus) to the -500 stylus (red) ... nice upgrade, IIRC, but this was in 1984! I know, not exactly the same, but is 'dead simple' as folks say.
     
    Opeth likes this.
  21. Colin M

    Colin M Forum Resident

    That's some impressive cartridge life.:agree:
     
  22. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    Well, I only used the -500 stylus until ... 1987? I gave the TT to a roommate when I moved away. Maybe he's still using it! :D
     
    Colin M likes this.
  23. Mlle. Aurora

    Mlle. Aurora SeƱor Member

    Location:
    Southern Germany
    OK you guys have made me order a 2m blue replacement stylus for my red today!
     
    Tombby, Sean Sandoval, Opeth and 2 others like this.
  24. Kitlope

    Kitlope Forum Resident

    So, don't keep us in suspense guys. How do you all like the upgrade?

    I realize it takes many hours to break it in but even after a couple of decent evenings of listening the blue should start to open up.
     
  25. Randy the Hat

    Randy the Hat Forum Resident

    Hello Randy here, and I like this place you have, very informative.
    ? If conditions are the same for stylus $, do you get more miles form stylus $$,
    ? #2 if stylus conditions are set up properly, how long do we have on average.
    thanks for the info.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine