Hey I wanna share something, and maybe hear your thoughts or advices. I own a very entry level turntable (Project Jukebox... which is a project essential with a built in preamp and amp) In the mid year I upgraded the OM10 so a super OM20... the sound upgrade was, despite my low setup, very noticeable and very good. I got bored during the quarantine and decided 2 weeks ago to try a OM40. I am very not impressed by the result, the stylus sounds worst than the OM20. The bass disappeared, the high frequencies are drastically taking over on every track and when I listen to Rock music... boy it is quite uncomfortable, it sounds much cheaper than what i got from the OM20. I am wondering if the stylus is allright... or maybe is it my system that is too weak to support it. The stylus responded positively to HIFI news test record, I don't have a microscope, but it seems fine on the outside. The cantilever doesn't seem 100% straight on every angle but they never seem to be 100% straight on my earlier cartdrige. I am going to test and probably buy a new table this week end (probably an acoustic solid one) but I was wondering if I should get my current cartridge installed on it or take de default Nagaoka mp-110. I am not able to install cartdrige by myself (I will keep my Project table as a test subject to practice cartdrige swap... but I don't wanna start experimenting on a 3000$ table). ***Please note I am currently using the amplification built-in the table
Is the weight in the cartridge? Maybe try it with the weight removed to remove some mass from effective mass of the tonearm. You might be creating some resonance with the added mass.
I have all the different iterations of the OM series and in my opinion the OM 20 with its elliptical stylus is the "sweet spot" in the range. It seems to bring out all the best things the body can do. The higher quality styluses seem to exaggerate flaws. Just my experience, of course. YMMV as they say.
I would look at the tracking angle. Different styli and styli profiles will have different requirements regarding angle of attack. If it’s off it can sound like Total crap. Even a few degrees can make or break it. you need to look at the angle both from the top and the side (rake). An Ortofon OM 40 is designed to have 20 degrees of rake. If your turntable has no option to adjust the tracking angle, even using shims, then you’ve effectively outgunned your arm using that stylus. My money is on improper set up
OM 40 has a Fritz Gyger stylus, iirc, which requires meticulous advanced setup your current tonearm is simply incapable of. On that table, you are better off with the 20. The 40 should work on your next table, if you get professional help dialing it in.
My table doesn't have adjustable VTA... when I got my ortofon OM20, the guy who installed it put the VTF at 2.4 to balance it cause it was causing distorsion. The sound was the best my table had... but I was scared to use it on my records so i got rid of the OM20 and got the OM40. the guy put it at 2.06... I then tried different VTF between 1.8 and and 2.3, but I didn't hear any audible difference. I know the supposed tracking force is 1. but my needle is oscillating if I go that low.
Agree with this. The OM 20 is practical for your Pro-Ject Debut. The Stylus 40 needs a lot of arm adjustments and advanced setup, which your tonearm does not have.
The OM 40 is about 10 times more sensitive to proper VTA than is the OM20. So I'm guessing that the VTA is off. Also, it probably rides much deeper in the grove, which has the potential to make the noise worse if your records are not super clean, and it might also make grove damage more audible. FWI - I do not generally recommend such aggressive stylus profiles as the OM40 uses. To my ears, Hyper-Eliptical is the best compromise overall in terms of stylus shape. So the OM30 is the sweet spot in that line, IMO.
thank you for your help... do you think using this stylus for 2 weeks on a cheap table could have done any dammages to either the record or the stylus?
The basic tone arm on the table I am looking for is a RB202, do you think that tone arm would be performant enough or I should take the nagaoka cartridge and save the OM40 for when i upgrade the arm. This is the table : Solid 111
Is there any particular reason you are buying this one? In any case, the arm looks to be maybe one step up from the lowest level Rega arm. I hope this is not one of the Rega arms with non-adjustable anti-skate...if so, I would say it is time to look at alternatives.
What do you mean by oscillating? Do you have a video of that? How close are the speakers to the turntable? Going too much over the manufacturer's recommended VTF is a good way to ruin your stylus.
No, inside the OM cartridge body at the top there is metal plate weight that is removeable. You'll have to unscrew the cartridge from the headshell to access it. You can see the weight in this picture: Ortofon OM Series
No, Rega is famous for no adjustment of VTA. Take the Nagaoka. Or, better yet, while you can still get one - why not buy a new Jelco on eBay while they haven't tripled in price? And then when you get the Acoustic Solid (great choice, BTW), have the Jelco installed on it here, and be done with it, end game. Just let the Acoustic Solid people know what arm you'll be using exactly, so they drill the holes in the plinth accordingly.
For my ears the Stanton/Pickering StereoHedron and StereoHedron II was the best stylus tip shape. Gave me plenty of detail, without excess, tracked anything as well or better than anything else, and reasonably durable if careful. The OM 30 is a bit too forensic. OM 20 is the sweet spot, and less setup intensive.
Oh my god the guy who installed the cartridge is not capable to do is job… That VTF is way too much, you risk to damage the suspension causing the collapsing of cantilever. If you hear distortions means the cartridge is not properly aligned, exceeding the recommended tracking force destroy the cantilever, damages records, and all you hear is a dull sound. If I was you I would address to a renowned professional dealer
According to the owner's manual, which I just looked up, it does have adjustable cartridge downforce (see p. 5). It also comes with a gauge - but unfortunately that gauge is calibrated for pressure. You probably want to use a third party device to measure the force properly and relate that to the suggested range for any different cartridge that you install. I still use an older Shure SFG-2 for that purpose and it is more than accurate for almost all installations. Jeff
It seems unlikely that it would have inflicted damage so quickly. But 2 weeks of use is no longer a new stylus in my book.
Absolutely get an arm with vta adjustment. Had a Technics 1200 with om30 Concorde on it. Could play with vta on the fly, *huge* adjustment in sound/tonal shift. Where in Canada can I get an om40?
The 2M series cartridges are the next generation from the OM series. In fact, you can use an OM stylus on a 2M cartridge body and many people do. The OM 40 is a FG cut stylus, while the 2M Black is a Shibata cut. Both of these are fine styluses. But as you have discovered, both are incredibly detailed and require a higher end TT and more exacting set-up. Also, as @Doctor Fine mentions, this kind of stylus is not ideal for many recordings. Back in the 60's and 70's, most recordings were optimized for playback with an elliptical stylus and don't necessarily sound right with a hyper detailed stylus. The result does become too clinical for some but not all vintage recordings. But even then, a higher quality analog set up is required. There are those who prefer the less detailed 2M Bronze, which would be similar to the OM 30. There are also those who will keep an 2M Blue or an OM 20 on hand, just to use with vintage albums.
