So I bought an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge.....

Can't go wrong with the Shure/Jico SAS combo. I've heard a lot a great things about the Black. I had a 2M Blue on a Technics that I gave my son and it was a great two hundred dollar cartridge. After 40 or so hours you could really hear an improvement. I'll be looking forward to reading your review on the 2M Black.

 

I just got an SAS for my Shure, and I am having the hardest time determining if the resulting brighter treble is a good thing or not. I tend to prefer the Stanton/Pickering/Shure "warm" sound, and the Jico on the Shure is noticeably brighter. But is it increased detail I am hearing, or actual treble boost? I've been debating whether to start playing with loading/capacitance or just learn to accept it at 47K/200pf.

 

I'm using the SAS with a V-15 III and I don't notice a brighter sound just more detail.

 

black and bronze.

Thanks for the advice!

 

Original...Funny you should ask...I have had mine four years and I think there is something up with it...sounds like what you would hear if there is a bunch of dust on the needle and it isnt riding the grooves quite right. Wonder if I need to replace the stylus? Not really a ton of hours on it...maybe its dried out?

 

That is what mine sounded like before I replaced it. The JICO does take some time to settle in. I sounds a bit grainy right out of the box but loosens up over time.

 

Personally, I think it's detail rather than true brightness. Because you've gone at it the way you have (ie from warm and cosy to warm but with fine detail), I can see how it might be initially jarring.

I went the other way (from brightly lit to warm + fine detail) and it took me a while to figure it out, but it was immediately easier on the ear. It's a big change, but I wouldn't go back to tipped-up brightness now. By the same token, I couldn't sacrifice the detail and tracking that the M97+SAS gives me. It's a hell of a benchmark at the price.

I've heard nothing but good things about the 2M black tbh, but some mixed stuff about lower down the 2M food chain, so I'd expect it to be extraordinarily good. I'm looking forward to the OP's review.

 

I had an Ortofon Black for a few years, till I upgraded my system. It was the best MM cartridge that I have ever listened to.
To the OP, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 

Wow!

I've got the Bronze!

The Black must be a killer!

 

I hope so as well! It should arrive at some point next week. Will provide a bit of a review once I've lived with it for a few weeks. although I may post some initial impressions.

 

Looking forward to it John as I have the 2M Blue and would like to perhaps upgrade (TT too).

 

I have a Red that I bought for son's system (my old Dual belt drive CS530-I think). I was surprised how good it sounded out of the box. Compared to my MMF5 w/ AT150MLX, it was not quite a smooth and integrated across the entire frequency range but it was pretty close. I also used it to determine that I need to replace the stylus on my AT cart- there was some distortion on a record on the right channel that disappeared when I used the Ortofon.

 

I have an opportunity to make a trade with a friend for a Black, which translates to me getting this cart for less than $350. He said his Black only has 20 hrs on it. I guess he scored a Benz at the same time and stuck with it. I'm currently running a Grado Gold on a VPI Traveler into a Primaluna tube integrated with a basic SimAudio 110 phono stage. I always thought my next step for a cart would be an MC, but the Black sounds like an awesome cart and I have an opportunity to snag one cheap. My Grado has probably gotten 300-400 hrs on it since I installed it 8 mos ago.

Thoughts?

 

Cart has a lotta gain, which can bring out surface noise.

 

Which do you find yourself listening to the most?

M~

 

Are you talking about the Mint protractor? Link.


M~

 

Indeed, yes.

 

We never heard back from John

I have a Bronze and while I have consumed lots of opinions off the net regarding the Black, I was looking forward to more

 

VPI and the 2m carts are a great match.... especially the 2M Black

 

I recently purchased a new stylus for the Black as my original was getting close to the end of its life, my original comments on the Black vs Bronze remain unchanged, I would like to add that it does track the inner grooves a little better IGD is really a non-issue with this cart if it's aligned properly, tracking is fantastic.

 

Cheers, mate

I find that IGD is completely absent with the Bronze too (here anyway), a Black stylus is what I want to move to when the time comes, so info from owners like yourself is very valuable to me. The more the merrier

BTW, how many hours would you estimate that you got from the original stylus? I don't expect any accurate numbers here, just a ball part figure maybe?

 

No clue on hours, the original purchase was three years ago, I don't listen to vinyl everyday mostly on weekends, if I was to guess on hours 1,200 to 1,600?

 

Thanks, Deuce.

 

Heres the new Ortofon 2m COPPER cartridge, the Jawa edition, John Williams sounds amazing on it

 

Yeah, because he's probably too busy spinning records.