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Deleted member 108165
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Had some time on my hands this week to tinker; to follow is my personal take of both these carts on my Marantz system:
MP300: Incredibly insightful cartridge, beautiful subtle detail retrieval with a soft edge. Soundstage is not as wide as the Ortofon, but I could sit and listen to music all day long with this cart fitted. Bass is well defined to the point where you can actually tell how hard percussive instruments are being played, especially drums, and it renders piano beautifully. This cart negotiates bias tracks 6, 7 and 8 on the HFN Test LP with ease. Could be fiddly to mount for a novice owing to screw/nut arrangment but easy to set-up because of the square body; sadly not so easy to see the stylus tip.
2M Black: Again, very insightful cartridge. More forward in presentation than the Nag and maybe not as subtly detailed. Bass is definitely enhanced and it has a wider soundstage than the Nag. If you predominantly play pop music then this cart makes you want to get up and dance. Requires about 1/3 of the anti-skate of the Nag. Dead easy to mount as only screws required, but difficult to set-up because of the cartridge shape; easy to see the stylus tip.
Strange thing about the 2M Black is that it would only negotiate bias track 6 on the HFN Test LP when fitted to the Pioneer; I had put this down to the Pioneer arm being of poor design. However, with the 2M Black fitted to the Marantz it performs exactly the same as the Pioneer in that it will only negotiate bias track 6! Maybe this is just a foible of the cart? I’ve got a spare 2M Blue stylus so I’ll give that a go at some stage. Looking at the Ortofon site they only recommend the OM5E, 2M Red/Blue and MC Quintet Blue for the TT15-S1!
Moving forward the Ortofon really wakes-up the laid-back Marantz amp but I guess it could be a marmite cartridge on a more forward system. The Nagaoka is different in that it is a much warmer cart. Try an MP500 maybe?
MP300: Incredibly insightful cartridge, beautiful subtle detail retrieval with a soft edge. Soundstage is not as wide as the Ortofon, but I could sit and listen to music all day long with this cart fitted. Bass is well defined to the point where you can actually tell how hard percussive instruments are being played, especially drums, and it renders piano beautifully. This cart negotiates bias tracks 6, 7 and 8 on the HFN Test LP with ease. Could be fiddly to mount for a novice owing to screw/nut arrangment but easy to set-up because of the square body; sadly not so easy to see the stylus tip.
2M Black: Again, very insightful cartridge. More forward in presentation than the Nag and maybe not as subtly detailed. Bass is definitely enhanced and it has a wider soundstage than the Nag. If you predominantly play pop music then this cart makes you want to get up and dance. Requires about 1/3 of the anti-skate of the Nag. Dead easy to mount as only screws required, but difficult to set-up because of the cartridge shape; easy to see the stylus tip.
Strange thing about the 2M Black is that it would only negotiate bias track 6 on the HFN Test LP when fitted to the Pioneer; I had put this down to the Pioneer arm being of poor design. However, with the 2M Black fitted to the Marantz it performs exactly the same as the Pioneer in that it will only negotiate bias track 6! Maybe this is just a foible of the cart? I’ve got a spare 2M Blue stylus so I’ll give that a go at some stage. Looking at the Ortofon site they only recommend the OM5E, 2M Red/Blue and MC Quintet Blue for the TT15-S1!
Moving forward the Ortofon really wakes-up the laid-back Marantz amp but I guess it could be a marmite cartridge on a more forward system. The Nagaoka is different in that it is a much warmer cart. Try an MP500 maybe?