Ortofon 2M Bronze, a review

Nice post, Stefan. I have been using a 2M Bronze for the past 4 years. First, on a Rega RP1. And; now on my George Merrill PolyTable. Wonderful cartridge with fantastic tracking. Awesome sound! I have never, ever, had a tracking issue. You would not believe some of the warped records that it has played. Flawless. Also; I'm still using the original stylus. George Merrill examined it recently. Told me it still looks great!
I might upgrade to the 2M Black Stylus next. But; $520.00 is a lot of coin! Lol! We'll see. I have been super pleased with the 2M Bronze.
One very important lesson that I learned from George is stylus care, too. Before I play each side of a record, I brush the record with a carbon fiber brush, & brush the Stylus with a stylus brush from back to front while the tonearm is floating. Note: While it is floating. Damage can occur if you do this when the tonearm is mounted on its rest. ☺ works great! About once a week, I use my Zerodust. I picked up some Grooove Lube from George, as well. I like to rotate out my stylus brushes (I keep 3) every week rinsing them off, & allow them to air dry. I apply a couple of drops of the Grooove Lube to my stylus brush when I swap them out. Another recommendation by Mr. Merrill. He's a great neighbor to have.

 

Trust your ears I run mine at 1.65.

 

The Rega Fono MM is that much better than the Rega A2D Fono Mini? WOW!
I have been considering upgrading my A2D in the future. But; I am at a very happy place right now. ☺
When I recently saw the Vincent PHO-8 phono preamp, I took notice. But; I decided to wait awhile.

 

I have had the Bronze for 4 years now. Replaced the stylus after 2 years of near constant listening. Looking for a change I grabbed a Sumiko Blue Point 2 for next to nothing brand new. I was shocked how much "quieter" the Sumiko was. Still getting used to the nuances of it but after playing what was once a rather noisy UK first pressing of LLDOB I was shocked how much quieter it was...virtually no pops. Same with a LOUD CUT first pressing of Rubber Soul and first pressing of Kind of Blue. Don't get me wrong...I loved the Bronze but man did it ever pick up everything.

 

The bronze is a vacuum cleaner for everything physical like grooves, dust and dandruff.

It is a really great cartridge system IMO.

 

My 2M Black is the same way. I went from a 2M Blue on a Debut Carbon to a 2M Black on a Scout II and the Black is very revealing. I hope it settles down a little after it breaks in because I am hearing pop and clicks that I never did with the Blue. Even on my quality new pressings that have been cleaned well.

 

I have Project Debut Carbon Esprit with the standard Red on it and I am thinking about going for the Bronze but wondered if it would be a step too far for the turntable and I should just upgrade to the Blue. Ahhh decisions!

Anyone else with a Debut Carbon running a Bronze?

 

I ran that combo until I upgraded to an RP8 (which still has the Bronze on it) and it sounded great, a huge jump up from the Red it replaced. If you can afford it, go for it!

 

A better cart will sound better on any table. Be warned, just as you will hear things in the groove you never heard before, you will also hear mechanical noises in the table you never heard before. The likelihood of buying a new table will also increase. In other words, when you get too far out in front with any party of your system it's not a good match and you go down a rabbit hole of upgrades. Which isn't a bad thing, you have to start somewhere if you can't do it all at once. Getting beyond the ability of a phono stage also constricts the ability of the cart to deliver the goods.

 

My combo is still going strong. I wouldn't go past a bronze on that TT, though. The great thing about a bronze is that you can easily upgrade to a Black when it's time to upgrade the TT.

 

Would anyone knowledgeable enough on this cartridge(2m bronze)happen to know if this would be compatible with the Denon DP-300f? I currently have the 2m Blue, which I upgraded to after a while with the 2m red. I can't really say much negative about either of those though.(red&blue) Both sound excellent. I know size wise, the cartridges are the same size and have a lot of similar specs. But I value first hand knowledge much more than guess work, and trial and error. Where I can anyway! Thanks all!!

 

Brian

The 2M family have differences in motor and stylus types but as a family they are otherwise very similar. If the Blue works in your arm, the Bronze will make you very happy. And if you ever get tired of the Bronze, the Black stylus works in that body. I run a Bronze in my Technics GAE and it sounds lovely. More of everthing you enjoy now but at a manageable price point for most of us.

Have fun!

 

Perfect reply!!! Thank you Clay! I'm very much looking forward to receiving this. And, even further down the road to the black 2m.(I wasn't aware the black stylus would fit the bronze, awesome!) The worst thing about having tight budgets, is the wait!!! Lol. I'm sure the bronze will keep me busy a long while anyway. Thanks again!!

 

You might be disappointed with the 2M Black as the DP-300F does not have adjustable VTA (tonearm height) which is something Ortofon strongly recommends for the 2M Black.

 

Mmmmmmmm, yes I see that. I wonder if my mat would allow for compensation being half as thick as the mat that came with my denon.(I use an am Carbon fiber-anti-static mat now and love it.)Or, I'm just totally stupid? Either way, at the blacks price, I'd probably want to upgrade the table anyway. But, I'll use the bronze a while anyway. Thanks for the input

 

Love the 2M Bronze. Very detailed and sweet sounding.

 

Currently I'm using the Shure M97XE on a 1998 Technics SL1200 ... was considering upgrading to the 2m Blue, but over the long-term, the price difference upwards to the Bronze will not really matter. Does anyone know if the SL1200 and the Bronze will be a good match? I currently have the Bugle 2 from Hagerman Audio Labs and the Marantz 6007. I listen to classical, jazz, and R&R.
Thank you.

 

@Stefan ..Looks like you might have come full circle; away from the Ortofon Bronze and back to the AT150, at least according to your avatar and profile. Thread was started in 2010 but care to update as to what's working for you currently, and why?

 

Actually, I've been going in all kinds of directions. Once I got a a turntable with removable headshell (PLX-1000), I started trying all kinds of different cartridges and spent way too much money. At some point I intend to put some up for sale, but anyway, after a lot of experimenting the one I keep coming back to is my Denon DL301II. It just sounds the nicest to me without tweaks. My ATs always needed EQ to tame the upper highs, my Ortofons simply couldn't track sibilants on worn records as cleanly as the AT microlines I own (AT150MLX, AT440MLb). The Denon isn't quite as good as the ATs either but it's close and I just find it sounds more open and natural than the Ortofons (my OM40 is very close, probably the closest MM to the Denon). I also experimented with SAS styli on a couple of Shures. They have an interesting sound and track just about as good as the AT microlines but a bit too lean on the low end. I also like a couple of LPGear Vivid Line styli I picked up. The cantilever on my 2M Black collapsed after awhile but then I always hated how badly it tracked sibiliants (and yes I tried every setup/alignment known to man!). I still mount the AT150 from time to time for really worn records but I just keep going back to the Denon time after time.

 

..and what became of the Bronze? Upgraded it to the Black?

 

Yes, but after the Black collapsed, I downgraded it to a Bronze again.

 

Ya, "natural sounding", that's what I have also found with Denon carts. They don't track as well as the AT carts, but I play minty records, so that was never an issue for me anyway.

 

I've actually used EQ Matching software to get ny ATs to match the EQ curve of the Denon so for the problem records the Denon doesn't track as well, the ATs work well.

 

I have a 2m bronze fitted to an Originlive RB300 with a Michell techno weight on an SL1210. I find myself returning to this combination to listen to some discs. This cartridge and stylus is unforgiving of badly cut vinyl. Some reviewers say that the bronze in bass light. But I find that it is not. It merely tracks what is on the disc. Revealing all the music. The Gouster album on Bowie’s “ Who can I be now.” Sounds utterly magical using the bronze. I prefer it to a Kontrapunkt C on a Roksan Tabriz zi. Less “ muddy” , but granted, without the slam and depth of the C.