Ortofon 2M Black Moving Magnet Cartridge

I recently upgraded my amplifier and speakers and it is like rediscovering music again. I mostly like classical, rock and pop. I gave away boxes of vinyl records when good CD players came along many years ago but kept a few favorite vinyl recordings and bought a decent turntable with a highly rated cartridge to play them occasionally. With the new equipment CDs initially sounded better played on a very high end CD player. The vinyls sounded thinner but I decided to try a better cartridge and bought this Ortofon. The difference is way beyond what I expected. The best quality vinyls now surpass CDs. The clarity and soundstage are excellent and the music is fuller and richer than the same recording on CD. I could listen to the vinyls for hours, especially the Mobile Fidelity Original Master recordings. The downside to this cartridge is the all in cost. Add to the price for the cartridge the expense of many new vinyls.

My experience with nice turntables and cartridges started in the late 1980s when I bought the new Bang & Olufsen Beogram TX2 Linear Tracking Turntable with an exceptional Audio Technica cartridge (VS245LP). It was a beautiful piece of equipment with superlative sound reproduction. The linear tracking tonearm was one-of-kind, and an interesting conversation piece whenever my friends would come over. The fact that it was also “fully automatic” made it even more special. Reason: high-end turntable manufacturers no longer make “fully automatic” turntables. You will soon understand why that detail is relevant to this story.In late 2018, my Beogram TX2 Linear Tracking Turntable finally started to show its age. It was no longer able to “spin” my newly purchased 180 gram (heavier) LPs at the proper speed. The additional weight (thickness) of the new 180 gram LPs was a bit too “heavy” for the motor such that the albums played a bit “too slow”.For that reason, I decided it was time to buy a new turntable-cartridge. I did some exhaustive online research—which is half the fun if you enjoy reading what the gurus and experts have to say about this exciting investment. I decided on the stunning new Music Hall MMF Black 9.3 turntable. I won’t go into its state-of-the art specifications—you can read about that in the product description here or the Music Hall website. Suffice it to say this is a perfectly engineered audio component. That fact was readily apparent from the first time I lowered the cartridge/stylus onto the virgin vinyl with the perfectly synchronized tonearm lever. The “remote” (detached) motor design is brilliant. Reason: there is a constant “low level hum” that exists in most turntable designs where the motor sits underneath the platter.I added a new deerskin turntable platter mat to give my “mint condition” LPs a clean, soft “static free” playing surface. A sweet bonus on this turntable is that it comes with a well-made (and very attractive) acrylic dust cover—a wonderful feature for a collector like myself, who strives to keep the dust off my LPs.If I have learned anything about audiophile-quality turntables, I now realize the importance of “isolating” the platter from unwanted vibrations that are generated by nearby speakers and the constant “foot traffic” on “pier-and-beam” hardwood floor surfaces near the turntable’s location. For that reason, I bought the Black Mapleshade Platform with XL sized-Isoblocks (feet). This gorgeous four (4) inch thick solid block of maple wood (cut and air-dried by the Amish) was well worth the cost ($378). Check it out on the Mapleshade website. Very cool stuff.Finding the perfect cartridge for my new turntable was a side project in and of itself. After reading dozens of rave reviews about Ortofon’s 2M Black Cartridge with the nude shibata (diamond) stylus, it was a no-brainer. If you can scrape together $750 for this cartridge, you will never look back.In order to ensure there were no “weak links”, I purchased the Audioquest “Water” Analog Audio Interconnect RCA 1.5M Cables ($625). These gorgeous state-of-the-art cables are simply the best sounding interconnect cables on the market, as verified by the dozens of internet expert articles and audiophile reviews by the people who work in the industry. These cables are connected from my turntable to my Onkyo P-3000R Reference Hi-Fi Preamplifier ($1,700)–also a perfectly engineered audio component which purifies the sonics for all of my home audio and video components. It was fun to read the glowing customer reviews on Amazon about my Onkyo preamplifier. They confirmed what I already knew.I have listened to many uber-expensive “esoteric” turntable-cartridge demonstrations at the most exclusive home audio showrooms in Dallas and New York City. I can honestly say that none of them sounds as good as my current set up. My audio system plays through a pristine 5.1 speaker configuration with a pair of Cerwin Vega SL-15s (Front 3-Way Floor Tower Speakers with 15″ woofers), Klipsch RS-42-II Reference Series Surround Speakers (Rear–mounted on the wall in the upper corners), Velodyne 10″ Subwoofer (DPS 10), and JBL center channel speaker.I stumbled upon a cool gadget as I was researching turntables (without cartridges) in the $2,000 range. I am referring to the “Tru Lift Tonearm Lifter” (stainless steel) with a miniature hydraulic lifting rod. It is sold on Amazon by Integrity HiFi Canada. I strongly suggest you view it on YouTube or go to their website to see how it works. This amazing device ($259) is perfect for LP enthusiasts who don’t want to be a “slave” to their turntable while busy in the kitchen, working at the computer, taking a shower, etc.Without this device, we all know what happens. The stylus on the cartridge plays the final song on the album. It then glides through the “run-out groove” until it abruptly (and loudly) hits the edge of the record label. It then continues to make that hideous “thumping” sound until the tonearm is physically lifted away from the spinning LP.Since the “fully automatic” option no longer exists in high-end turntables, the Tru Lift Tonearm Lifter device is a lifesaver. It silently and gently lifts the tonearm off of the spinning album after the final song is played. Priceless.I have now acquired a number of very cool new 180 gram vinyl (remastered) LPs which sound amazing on my new turntable-cartridge set up. “Snow Patrol—Final Straw”. “The Cure–Mixed Up”. “Miles Davis–Kind of Blue”. “Alice in Chains–Jar of Flies/Sap”. “Suede–Sci-Fi Lullabies”. “Steely Dan–Aja”. “Frank Sinatra–In the Wee Small Hours”. “Jethro Tull–Songs from the Wood”, just to name a few.We all spend our hard-earned money in different ways. I realize this project is a significant financial investment that may not appeal to those people who are perfectly content streaming compressed MP3 digital music onto “wireless” Bluetooth speakers. But for those of us who appreciate the subtle nuances that can only be reproduced on analog hi-fi components of this caliber, playing my LPs on this exquisite “set-up” is a special treat that never gets old.

Recently upgraded from Clearaudio Performer V2 Ebony hi-output MM Phono Cartridge with Ebony Body. Much more detailed. Very much appreciating the difference on a Rega P10 turntable.

I am happy with the purchase experience and the product itself.

Replaced the clear audio virtuoso that came with my marantz tt with the 2m black. The sound is great, much better that the clear audio. Even though this cart is on the bright side, it had less sibilance that the clear audio.