Ortofon 2M Blue

[chebby]

Setting up the turntable after it's Christmas hiatus and recent vinyl/turntable related topics here reminded me it was about time to upgrade my stylus and get the 2M Blue.

I am always advising people to start with a 2M Red first then upgrade but had not yet taken my own advice!

So I have just ordered one.

My 2M Red stylus is probably less than a quarter of the way through it's 1000 hours of useful life (the usual estimate seems to be about 1000 hours for these things) and so it seemed a good time to 'retire' it as a good spare/backup whilst it is still viable.

I am doing this on the recommendation of forummers here, online and mag reviews and my own experience of the 2M Red. You don't normally get to demo stylus upgrades alas.

Can anyone else - who has upgraded from Ortofon 2M Red to Blue - tell me how long it took to 'run in' and what improvements they heard?

Thanks.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Tricky to tell, as I went for the blue from the start, but from what I've read (in another worldly hifi mag, ahem) the blue has more separation around instruments, and a slightly more refined top end.

I don't think it's going to be a huge upgrade, and TBH would probably say to get your money's worth out of the red first.

I also believe that the Bronze/Black carts while compatible with the styli of the red/blue and vice versa have a slightly different construction, so a 2m red/blue body with a black stylus on it would not be quite the same as a retail black (if that makes sense)...

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Tricky to tell, as I went for the blue from the start, but from what I've read (in another worldly hifi mag, ahem) the blue has more separation around instruments, and a slightly more refined top end.

I don't think it's going to be a huge upgrade, and TBH would probably say to get your money's worth.

I also believe that the Bronze/Black carts while compatible with the styli of the red/blue and vice versa have a slightly different construction, so a 2m red/blue body with a black stylus on it would not be quite the same as a retail black (if that makes sense)...

Run in seemed to be done by about 35 hours in my case...

 

[survivor]

Afraid I can`t help but just replying to say I shall be keeping an eye on this thread and will be interested to know how you get on with the blue. Also if you don`t mind me asking, where did you order it from?

Good luck.

 

[chebby]

I ordered it from my local Audio-T.

 

[Henley]

Running in takes about 15 - 20 hours and FBS is right;
Although the styli from the Read and Blue will fit, the body material for the Bronze and Black is different. So, in real terms, fitting a Black stylus on a Red body will not equate to a full 2M Black, but you're about 75% there.

 

[Lost Angeles]

Chebby I'm also interested to know how you get on here as you advised me to get a Red (Not that I'm disappointed) but could have easily spent the extra.

 

[chebby]

Henley:Running in takes about 15 - 20 hours and FBS is right;
Although the styli from the Read and Blue will fit, the body material for the Bronze and Black is different. So, in real terms, fitting a Black stylus on a Red body will not equate to a full 2M Black, but you're about 75% there.

Thanks.

I am not after a 2M Bronze or Black quite yet Henley (that will have to wait for a TT & arm upgrade) it is on the 'Lottery list' though

 

[chebby]

Lost Angeles:Chebby I'm also interested to know how you get on here as you advised me to get a Red (Not that I'm disappointed) but could have easily spent the extra.

I advised you to get a Red because they are excellent £60 cartridges. Me upgrading to a Blue stylus will not alter that fact - nor my recommendation.

I bought my P2 with the optional blue Rega felt mat and so (finally) I will have a matching stylus! (This is - of course - the REAL reason I am upgrading!)

 

[gregory]

hello Chebby, good choice excellent cartridge but i did a little experiment yesterday which was to take the felt mat off the platter, as i believe you have the same p2 as me with the mdf platter why not give it a go and report back your findings.

 

[chebby]

gregory:hello Chebby, good choice excellent cartridge but i did a little experiment yesterday which was to take the felt mat off the platter, as i believe you have the same p2 as me with the mdf platter why not give it a go and report back your findings.

Thanks but I would rather not. I don't like the idea of a hard surface in contact with my vinyl. Worried about any grot impacting on the grooves. My records (touch wood) are all in excellent condition.

The reason I got the blue felt mat was that - being a P3 mat - it was a little thicker and heavier and did not cling like the awful standard P2 mat. (And because it's blue.)

Once the platter is spinning I never stop it between records/sides so the felt mat is ideal. If I removed the mat then I would have to stop and start the platter for every side in case of scuffing the record.

I am sure you are right about the improvement but I will pass thanks.

 

[the record spot]

Ringmat Technologies - £50 for a cardboard and cork poppadom! Also a good upgrade on the Rega felt mat. The only thing that touches your vinyl are some thin cork circles - very impressive performance (and this from a gimmick sceptic). Get one on trial from a dealer and give it a whirl.

 

[chebby]

The 2M Blue stylus arrived today and I have fitted it and played two sides of ZZ Top's Eliminator to 'christen it' and start the running-in period.

Actually sounds pretty good from the off.

1st impression is that it is slightly quieter and the bass is a little tighter. The top-end though! Already (in it's 1st hour) it has proved it's superiority over the 2M Red in the treble.

(I hate splashy treble with a vengeance and could cheerfully murder those drummers who over-use cymbals but the 2M Blue has reigned that in nicely thanks.)

Looking forward to the the next 20 hours of playing time to see how the sound evolves during it's run in. The 2M Red - I recall - actually just seemed to suddenly come alive one particular Sunday morning about 3 weeks after I fitted it. I wonder if the same will happen with this stylus too?

 

[John Duncan]

chebby:Can anyone else - who has upgraded from Ortofon 2M Red to Blue - tell me how long it took to 'run in' and what improvements they heard?

Give it a couple of weeks and Hughes'll be able to tell you.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Or the person that just bought my beloved Radius/2M Blue a few minutes ago on the bay of e(sobs...) bleddy credit crunch...

 

[the record spot]

Phone Mantra Audio in Selby who're doing the AT440MLa for £96. Beats the recent £125 by a good margin. Top cart too. Have I mentioned it before?

 

[chebby]

the record spot:Phone Mantra Audio in Selby who're doing the AT440MLa for £96. Beats the recent £125 by a good margin. Top cart too. Have I mentioned it before?

£78 online from the same place but out of stock now.

Before Christmas the place in Devon was selling the AT440MLa for £79.95 but now the new stock is in the price is back to £124.

I expect the same will happen when Mantra's new stock arrives from AT.

These things fluctuate by the week especially with the AT440MLa which is an imported model. You really don't want to see the choice of AT cartridges available in Japan! You will weep.

Example....

http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/products/cartridge/at33ev.html

Or a nice place to keep your selection handy?...

http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/products/cartridge/at6280.html

Click on some from the lists at the bottom of this page....

http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/products/cartridge/

And dont get me started on the huge range of Nagaoka cartridges you can buy if you are NOT in the UK.

 

[the record spot]

The £78 they quote is for the stylus only - though it isn't clear (but is in their magazine ad). If you want the whole cartridge assembly, then the price goes up to £96 (or whatever it'll be with the latest currency conversion!)

And yes, some of those cartridges were pretty amazing! There's another blast from the past - Nagaoka; their MP11 was a staple budget cartridge along with the Glanz MFG-11 from too many years back now.

 

[chebby]

the record spot:There's another blast from the past - Nagaoka; their MP11 was a staple budget cartridge along with the Glanz MFG-11 from too many years back now.

Yes I used to have an MP11 Boron (back in about 1985).

That is not the whole story though.

Notice they are all in US dollars though. Maybe the guy would sell them in the UK if you asked nicely

Here in the UK we just don't get to see any of this stuff. How about Jelco arms? Seen one in your dealers lately?....

http://www.jelco-ichikawa.co.jp/e_tone_arm.htm

 

[the record spot]

Yep, agreed - there's a whole stack of stuff we either don't see in the UK, or have to go to a specialist dealer for, or via t'interweb. There was a review of a Jelco arm elsewhere recently; got a good write up from memory. Seems like a decent step up from the RB250/300, but not sure of the tweakability (mind you, the newer RB301 makes that a bit of a trial with the additional changes to the arm from what I hear).

 

[chebby]

Update.

Without having counted the hours exactly I think I can say my Ortofon 2M Blue is run-in now.

I got my 'new' copy of Joe Cocker's LP 'Sheffield Steel' in the post today (mint, never played 1982 original English 1st pressing) and put it on. Sheer magic! I have never heard it sound 'so good, so right' before.

I bought this album new first time around back in 1982 and it was a favourite when I upgraded from my old Dual CS-505 to the first of the Rega Planar 3's to be fitted with the (then new) RB300 arm in 1983.

I had the album many years and played it many times on a couple of Rega 3s with many different cartridges (including a Goldring 1042). I also had it on CD a while back but it never worked right for me in that format.

Today with my new 2M Blue it was like hearing the album back in 1983 again with that first Rega of mine only much better! (And not just the two stand-out tracks 'Talking back to the night' and 'Seven Days' but the whole album was a revelation!)

Suspicious of Joe, Sly, Robbie et al (and their genius recording engineer) being solely responsible I slipped on some Jerry Lee Lewis (Mercury label) then some Bowie (ChangesBowie on Ryko) and then some 1980s 12" singles (Mirror in the bathroom, Only the Sun, Walk like an Egyptian) and the truth was there. My cartridge has sprung to life/run-in/warmed up (or whatever) and it was not just Joe Cocker what did it.

I am still a bit gob-smacked at just how good this Ortofon 2M Blue is and I have even challenged it again with some of the badly recorded stuff the the 2M Red could only just hold on to, and the previous cartridge (Rega Bias 2) would fall to pieces with! It tracked like the Flying Scotsman and pushed the distortion all the way back to the recording booth/studio/shed where it now evidently came from. Some of these records (old Skatellites for instance) now sound upbeat and charmingly 'rustic' rather than cut with a hacksaw!

 

[Fenton Beasley]

chebby:Update....

I am still a bit gob-smacked at just how good this Ortofon 2M Blue is and I have even challenged it again with some of the badly recorded stuff the the 2M Red could only just hold on to, and the previous cartridge (Rega Bias 2) would fall to pieces with! It tracked like the Flying Scotsman and pushed the distortion all the way back to the recording booth/studio/shed where it now evidently came from. Some of these records (old Skatellites for instance) now sound upbeat and charmingly 'rustic' rather than cut with a hacksaw!

Hi Chebby. I have a quick question. Would I benefit from replacing my Rega Elys 2 with an Ortofon 2M Blue or would it be a sideways move?

 

[chebby]

A definite upgrade.

 

[Fenton Beasley]

chebby:A definite upgrade.

Thanks dude. I will check out my local Ortofon dealer who are fortunately only 5 minutes drive away.

 

[crusaderlord]

Chebby

With an Ortofon 2M Blue and a Rega Planar 2 - the cartridge looks a lot lengthier than my existing one. Does this cause any issues or is there still enough room to use this with the arm without adjustments ?