Vinyl Salvation....The Ortofon 2M Blue.

Hello Folks

I just wanted to spread the good news. After much deliberating I decided to buy an Ortofon 2M Blue Stylus . The reason for my delay was it was only 3 months ago I bought a replacement 2M Red . Since then a lot of vinyl has been spun & I thought I could improve & keep the 2m Red as my backup/spare & enjoy playing vinyl every day for at least the next 2 years. I have been playing for 3 hours now & even from cold it sounded good. I am playing Future by the Seeds & even at this stage very promising. The surface noise has reduced considerably.

The reason I called this thread Vinyl Salvation is at long last here is a cartridge that is affordable that sounds fantastic & in my personal opinion a 2M Blue on a Technics , Project , Rega will sound better anything that digital can do up to £2,000 (BTW I am not anti digital , I love cd & own many discs)

 

I have it on a Project Debt III. I am very satisfied with it. I clean my vinyl with Spin Clean. With this combo, listening to good vinyl is a treat.

 

I swapped my red for a blue on day 1 with my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon. Been a very happy camper.

 

Agreed. I had a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, and after about 6 months jumped up to the 2M Blue. I was really happy with it and the sound after spinning things through a Spin-Clean. I recently got a VPI TT and RCM, and still use the 2M Blue as it just sounds so nice, especially for the price A great stylus!

 

How difficult is it to swap the Red out for the Blue on the Pro-Ject? It's the only table I've ever owned, & I don't have any experience with adjustments, improvements, etc.

 

The Blue is essentially a stylus upgrade from the Red. You basically switch out the needle instead of the whole cart, unless you're looking to mount the Red on another table. This replacement will practically take you 1 minute tops.

 

I agree completely. I have the 2M Blue on a Rega RP3 and it sounds great. I think it's really well balanced across the frequencies and is detailed, but not harsh. For the money, I have no complaints and really enjoy it with the RP3.

 

The 2m is breaking in a bit more & I am very impressed. I m playing some 1980s cheese that I got dirt cheap in charity shops. Ultra thin vinyl so so pressings but things sound very good indeed.

 

*Bump*

Ditto my experience. 6 months after purchasing my first 'proper' seperartes system I upgraded my red on my debut carbon esprit to a blue and it has been the salvation of my collection. no more sibilince, no more harshness, better bass, better everything.

I was 'testing' some 80's pressings Duran duran (paper thin vinyl) last night and it kills almost all of my cd collection. I'm very happy with my set up...

*searches endlessly on SH forum for tips on next upgrade*

 

Yes, I just bought one also and installed on a Pioneer PL-707 table.

Right out of the box excellent sound on an early 80's Steely Dan's Greatest Hits 2 Lp set. I am very, very impressed.

 

@The Good Guy, impressions still favorable? Looking at this cart, currently using a Denon DL-110, which I love, but I think It's life may soon be coming to an end, and it seems they jumped the price by almost 200 for it, grrr, the blue would work fine with a standard Japan s-arm?
Thanks
http://www.thevintageknob.org/technics-SL-1900.html

 

The 2M Blue has bedded in & I love it more than ever. My bank balance doesn't cos I must have bought 50 albums since getting it. This is all about music at a good price & no Audiophile crap talk like VTA/Rake Angle/Overpriced phono stages ....yawn!

 

Glad to read these positive posts about the 2M Blue. I have the 2M Red and think the Blue stylus will be my next upgrade, a very simple upgrade too.

 

Aside from reading that the blue is better, and assuming since the price is higher that the reviews are correct... why would you not even bother with the red?

Are there any sound clips that are out there for people to compare, that I'm unaware of? Needle drops.

 

I owned both & the Red is good for the money but the Blue is good regardless of price.

 

I had the Blue on a Debut III. A comparison of needle drops made it a no brainier.

Bill

 

I have a 2m Bronze in my RP6 and love it. I have zero interest in a new cartridge.

 

Same here. I have had my thoughts on the Black when it's time for a change but I'm worried I will miss the Bronze.. Lovely cart!

 

Great to hear! How easy was the installation? I have the new Pioneer Plx-1000 with a Concorde stylus (Yeah, I'm lazy) but I have the nice headshell with wires stashed away and am dying to set it up. I'm torn between this cart and the AT440Mla or 120E.

 

Im thinking of retiring my now very old Grace F9E for 2M very likely BLUE to start with so Ive been busy reading all 2M threads but one thing that strikes me as missing in these discussions is no one is defining the total capacitance loading on their carts (incl cabling)?? IMO its quite likely that cap loading on all these diff systems should be wide ranging and could have considerable effect on what ea users listening experience is. Id love to know what everyone cap loading is and see if any trends emerge

 

I was pleased at the beginning but noticed a lot of surface noise being picked up, went back to the red and it was gone...

 

After I had a toddler vs. stylus incident with my Music Hall Mojo ($500 cart/$300 replacement stylus), I replaced it with a new 2M Blue cart.

I think the Mojo's stylus is (was ) a teeny bit better, but I am perfectly happy with how the 2M Blue sounds and tracks my records. The cart design is much better for protecting the stylus as well, which provides peace of mind when I'm away. I made a habit of always replacing the stylus guard after listening.

 

Yep. Night and day

 

What are you referring to, red vs. blue? Which do you prefer?

 

I ran a 2m Blue for about a year or so. I currently run a Grace F9E. The Blue can't keep up in any facet to the Grace. Especially in the surface noise department. My Grace is a wicked tracker and surface noise is a much lesser evil that it was with the blue. You will quickly come to find the blue is dry and brittle exactly where the Grace shines. Do yourself a favor and replace the stylus.....the blue might just be a bummer for you.

http://www.sound-smith.com/parts/grace-f9-replacement-stylus