Ortofon2M Blue Moving Magnet Phono Cartridge

For the last two years, I've looked at the Blue from the sidelines, as I outfitted all (3) Technics SL-1200MK2's in the house with 2M Red's. I enjoyed the performances the Red laid down, and didn't question I had the best value at the time as Reds can be had anywhere for a Benjamin. With two young kids in the house, I felt at ease teaching them how to run the table (cue lever, handling the tonearm, etc.). If the worse happened and they bumped the arm, dropped it, etc., and the needle broke, better to lose something that isn't spectacularly expensive.Well, time goes by, and your ears adjust to your setup, you hear more of what you're getting and what you're missing, particularly when you go over to a friend's house who has a much more expensive cartridge, and you eventually get the itch. One of my three tables regularly had nasty inner groove distortion, and it was the nicest, newest table of the three, so something was up. I got an Ortofon protractor and got it better aligned than its neighbor who still outperformed. Enough of this happens, my birthday comes up, and I finally bite and order the Blue.Simultaneous to this, I replace the headshell with another identical Technics (I could never get the problematic Red secure in the old shell so it moved around easily, which in hindsight likely caused some of the issue - found out the screws used were too long and bottomed out before I could fully secure the cartridge).The afternoon testing begins with some Bach. The needle drops and finds the groove notably faster than the Red, and surface noise is nil. I find the overall response more lush, but lacking a little in the top end and the very bottom. I let the whole side play, enjoying the nuance of the piano strings - you can hear them vibrating more and even the mallets hitting them in some cases.I then shake it up and play some Doobie Brothers, an old tired copy of Stampede, starting with "I Cheat the Hangman". I've heard this song a number of times before, but the muted electric guitar and vocals are more haunting, open, and the stage is wider. Everything is breathing more and has more presence. Then I grab "One Step Closer" and play the title track. The opening drums have so much energy you'd think they were playing in the room.Then I have a cousin over to celebrate and we go off the reservation for a few hours spinning a few complete albums, starting with Styx - Pieces of Eight. With "The Great White Hope", anticipation builds as you hear layers you didn't know where there. "I'm OK" blasts through with the opening drums, again with urgency and sustain never heard before. You hear the drum hit, the transients, and the reverb, and it demands attention and respect. "Sing for the day" brings Tommy to the front, cutting clearly and making the connection. "The Message" was clear and balanced, but missing the ABSOLUTE bottom end bass notes which I assume will come more as the stylus breaks in. "Blue Collar Man" has the intro vocals clearer than ever with an ethereal staging to them, you can't really tell where it's positioned. The bass drum comes through like a muted heart beat, to great effect.This overall enjoyment continues as we proceed to Tommy Shaw's "The Great Divide", a solo Bluegrass effort with him on mandolin. No frills, just smooth, honest, like you remember with old RCA country records.Next up is Rush's "Signals". "Subdivisions" presents like never before. Neil Peart's drums stand out beautifully. The mix (and Geddy and Alex) know how to co-exist and not step on others' toes and let their talent all shine through. Neil's performance, in particular stands out, however; the talent is on full display and can't be missed or denied. "Chemistry" in particular stands out with its thick bass guitar and tight rhythm.With each album, I find myself anxious with the end of each side, where things would get semi-atrocious on the old setup due to inner groove distortion (again, I have two other Red's on the same table model and setup, and they don't suffer from this, so don't take this as a dig on the Red). Here I find no loss other than what comes from less surface area due to CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) nature of records. I feel more relieved with each passing side.The evening ended with a single track off Steely Dan's "Aja", because why not - "I Got the News". Again, the notable improvement was the drums. Donald Fagen's dry delivery is that much dryer, Walter's guitar cuts sharper, piano is more sublime, everything just sounds better and makes you want to listen to more, the ultimate compliment a music aficionado can give.Both of us were able to successfully disappear into the music landscape for the evening; lava lamp on, room lights off, accent lights for the tables lit, beer growler disappearing, super pleased in my decision and results. Transition from red to blue could be something as simple as just changing out the stylus as the cartridge is otherwise identical inside. Output impedance is the same, recommended tracking force is the same, output level seems identical, frequency response is wider on the high end with the Blue. I wanted to change everything in case somehow the Red cartridge itself was misaligned or defective, so now I have a complete spare setup (now tightened with the right screws) I can throw on in a pinch in 30 seconds.Surprisingly, it seems like the Blue cuts deeper in the vinyl and gets past some surface imperfections, giving you quieter passages between tracks, and a cleaner overall experience. Makes one wonder if it really could be this much better someday going from Blue to Bronze.I recommend this cart for any number of applications, rock, jazz, classical, I think they all benefit from its design.

I’m an MC guy and have been for the last 30 years. IMHO there isn’t much that comes close to the warmth of an MC cart, until now.The price on this was really good so I took a shot. I opted for the unmounted version and purchased a blue head shell. After alignment and calibration of my tonearm, I gave it a listen and was very impressed.It is warm without being soft and clear without being harsh. All the frequencies are where they should be. Separation and balance are really good!Very happy with this purchase! Still an MC guy, but this MM cart can hang with the big boys!

Even though I'm well aware of the limitations of the vinyl, I've recently fallen in love with it again. I bought an ATLP120 (not the best I know, but for my price range it was a monumental improvement over my previous model, a cheap lightweight Pyle Pro, which I rarely used as it just lacked any sort of definition) back in December 2016. Since then I have slowly been tweaking and upgrading it, including cartridge alignment, using leveling feet, and trying different mats (currently using a leather one which I really like). 8 months later, the only thing left (besides removing the preamp, which I doubt I'll do as the harshness other reviewers of the turntable mention doesn't bother me) was to replace the cartridge system. I had been wanting to upgrade to a 2M red for a time but after seeing so many people start there, then go one step further and share even more enjoyment, I decided to go straight for the blue. I aso bought the SH-4 headshell which is a lot nicer and lighter than the AT headshell.So when it came a day after the headshell I got it all hooked up and the cartridge aligned. I decided to use the repressing of Def Leppard's Hysteria as a test record since it has very very sharp treble and I previously noticed some inner groove distortion. So I first played side one with the AT 95e that came with the turntable at a very high volume so as to really hear the nuances. Then I put the 2M Blue on and reset the tonearm and tracking force. I dropped the needle and immeadiately the difference was madly noticeable. I don't know how much of an improvement over the 2M red this thing gives, but compared to the AT-95e it is just a singing, beautifully balanced, beautiful monster tracking machine. Indeed the output was considerably louder but what truly astonished me is the space between the instruments and voices and all the detail which I hadn't even picked out on CD versions of the album.My next test record was my Music On Vinyl pressing of Jar Of Flies by Alice In Chains. I dropped the needle on "No Excuses" and immeadiately the drums sounded so full and the bass so resonant and the guitars so spacious. I swear this is truly better mastered than any CD version, but I just never had the cartridge to notice it. What truly blew me away was the space in the vocals. Before the harmonies were still audible but not very seperable. It sounded a bit like a guitar chord. But as soon as the vocals came in I could easily differentiate the voices and pick each interval apart.Then came the obligatory test that most people use. Dark Side Of The Moon. I was beginning to think Vinyl never really did the album justice just because the soundscape is so huge and so dense in the CD. Well the 2M blue has changed my opinion. I'll leave it at that.If you have a 2M red, I can't tell you weather to upgrade or not. But I can tell you if you have a cheap or moderate cartridge that came with a decent but not severely overpriced turntable, the difference this thing makes is worth every penny. (And to think after 40 or so hours of playback, supposedly this thing is going to be broken in and sound even better!!)

Upon installation and alignment of this cartridge I immediately noticed an improvement in the high frequencies in the music. The low frequencies seem a bit weak though. This being said, I haven’t yet listened to a lot of music that has any emphasis on low frequencies. My first album played with this cartridge on my pioneer PL-530 turntable was Dire Straits Brothers in Arms and the clarity of this cartridge is amazing. So far I am seriously impressed. If you have any dirt or imperfections in the grooves of your record, this cartridge and stylus will let you know about it. That’s for sure.

Blue Stealth cartridge on a VPI Prime TT. Temporary cartridge as my $1,500 SoundSmith cartridge is rebuilt. Not even broken in the Blue Ortofon is amazing. Not even an hour in, awesome and detailed sound. Not sure I’ll replace it when my other cartridge arrives! Really good sound and price!