Nice preamps! As previously mentioned, I think there’s a capacitance mismatch between the Mani and the Solo with the Ortofon Blue. I believe both are 100 pf, good match for the AT. The Blue’s range is 150-300 pf.
Pro-ject DC TT. About 8 years old. Was hearing distortion with the Ortofon Red(yes, stylus was clean and not that many hours) so decided to try the Blue. Cleared up the distortion and brought out the mids. I thought it was a definite improvement. Can't comment on Grado.
Tonearm wiring and the RCA cabling will take you to ~200pf total if your phono preamp has 100pf. Between 150-300pf, I'm not sure which would give the most accurate frequency response, because Ortofon doesn't say. You'd have to test and take measurements to know for sure.
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[QUOTE="Mike70, And ... you need to check the capacitance, because AT asks for 150pF maximum and Ortofon for 300 pF. If you have long cables or high capacitance preamp you'll favour Ortofon. More capacitance generates a "skinny" sound.[/QUOTE] can you explain this in more detail for me please?
Thank you, I favor the Mani by a long shot over the other two. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the 2M Blue. I especially like it for electronic music. It doesn’t sound bad at all, it’s set up properly and all that. I just prefer the sound of the 95. One thing I don’t like that the 2m Blue does though, is if you have a record that has some surface marks from coming in and out of the sleeve and what not, I feel like it accentuates surface noise. The ML minimizes that. I have a couple techno records that were DJ’d to death back in the 90’s, and they sound clean on the ML. Not so much the blue.
You need a test LP with an accurate frequency sweep. Ideally a broadcast grade test LP. The one I use for this specific purpose (other test LPs are better for other things) is the CBS STR100. Set your capacitance to whatever it normally is, record a sweep from REC OUT or phono stage out into USB audio interface. Then graph and analyze. You'll see peaks and valleys in the frequency response of the cart + phono output. You can then determine if you want to try adding capacitance by flipping a switch (if you have one) or using loading plugs. There are also mathematical models for cartridge loading but they often don't take into account mechanical resonances from the cartridge so it's best to measure. Or you can not worry about it if everything sounds good to you. You may or may not be able to hear the difference with different capacitance settings. Many people on this forum are older and have high frequency hearing loss. It's a fact of life with humans and affects everyone as they age. Further reading: Load the Magnets!!! - [English] Hagerman Technology LLC: Cartridge Loading
can you explain this in more detail for me please?[/QUOTE] As you can see in the graph included in the article posted by patient_ot, with higher capacitance you get higher peaks in hi-frequency. So, preamp capacitance + cables capacitance must be in the capacitance range specified for the cartridge. Many "at thin sound" are consequence of bad marching. AT cartridges are flat, neutral, detailed. A "fat sound cartridge" can sound flat and neutral with higher capacitance. As you see, audio is totally subjective, and depends more in the system and the acoustics if you don't know what you're doing. Is like buying a sedan car to go off-road and then say to anyone that the car is garbage. Is it true? Of course, we can't disagree ... but the guy simply ignores the real thing ... as we do all the time, until we learn.
Super interesting. Thanks for sharing. I just might get a test LP and see where things land with my current setup.
The VM95## is something I'm considering because of the interchangeable stylii. Does the 2M Blue have a good budget stylus to complement the Blue, even a conical?
I hate this cartridge. The 2m Blue is analytical. Its all the bad of digital and none of the good of vinyl.. .. I had it on 3 tables. To me it is really the anti-vinyl cartridge. Strong opinion, but if you like Grado then move up the Grado chain. You
Hi guys, just signed up since I found your thread with the cartridges discussion I'm interested in. So recently I bought a pretty old Pioneer PL-100 with broken needle. Since I am new to this, I wanted to jump into vinyl right away, and ordered the fastest delivery available from Amazon cartridge AT-VNM95C, the blue one entry level. Thinking about upgrading the needle later. After 1 months I started to look for the options. I have a used Grado Gold 1 in my area for $110, but I will need to purchase another headshell for it. Also I saw you guys like the AT-95ML needle, which I can order for around $200, but only from ebay as all stores are OOS. I'm just building the collection and mainly adding old school jazz and soul, like Aretha, Nina Simone, Miles Davis. So I wanted something with warmer sound and noticeable bass when I add some R&B records later. So would the AT-VNM95ML be better than Grado Gold in terms of universality?
If you look for warmer sound with noticeable bass, the Grado Gold will have more of that than anything Audio Technica. I recently switched from a Grado Prestige Gold to an AT VM740ML, and the AT is more neutral, with a less pronounced bass, verging on bright in the high-end.
Welcome to the joyous rabbit hole! I wish you enjoyment whatever path you take, My impression is that the AT is a good value all rounder. But your preference in music sounds like it deserves a slightly more dedicated cartridge to do justice to the music. I tend to play my Otis Redding Mono box with my Ortifon 2M Blue and it sounds special. The AT95 I now use for everyday all round stuff - and it is great and versatile - depending on the record, I change out for individual cartridges with different detail. I’m starting to take more interest in what people on here are saying about Grado though....
The 2M Red stylus would work on the Blue... it's a bonded elliptical vs the nude on the Blue, thusly cheaper.
I wish Ortofon did what AT did with their VM series. You get a VM series cart and any of their stylus's work with the same cart. Technically you can attach a Bronze to a 2M cart from a red or blue but is not the same cart as the bronze or black. Not a fan of the red but love the blue. Will continue to use my Blue and ATVM95ML carts. Both are about the same price for just the stylus. I wish they had a cheaply priced conical for the 2M series. $40 conical stylus
IIRC, it is possible to fit the OM series styli onto the 2M Red/Blue carts. It looks weird, but physically possible. There's a thread somewhere on this...so for instance, something cheap like the 5E cold be an option.
In regards to Grado my concern is that it might be too much. My polk speakers are kind of warm, plus my integrated Cambridge Audio SR10 is also to a warmer side, recently I purchased the phono stage Cambridge Solo, and the amp has the tone controls with the sub out. So I thought if I go with Grado gold I might loose all the heights. But will see maybe I can get two. The ML needle and Grado Gold used.
I’ve never tried an OM/Concorde stylus on a 2M body. I know you can, although I never would because it looks hideous. But if you want a spherical stylus, 5s and pro s are great.
As a user of 2M Red, who upgraded 2,5 years ago to Blue and had an opportunity to try out Stylus 40 on a 2M Red body, I can confirm that they are all interchangeable
