Vinyl Asylum

RE: what an eye opener

96.232.182.38

xaudiomanx

In Reply to: RE: what an eye opener posted by mraudio on March 09, 2025 at 13:26:05

Is the LVB much better than the Black?

Follow Ups:

RE: what an eye opener - flood2 12:35:24 03/10/25 (0)
You get a boron cantilever which is much stiffer than aluminium and shifts the bending modes far above the audible range. As for whether this makes a practical difference or not is down to the listener. Much of the cost increase is down to the scarcity of the boron and Ortofon's pricing strategy.
Personally, I don't believe that the premium is justified for the performance boost, but technically they did improve tracking ability with the change in the damping rubber composition - reviews in HFNRR specifically called this out as a noticeable improvement of the vanilla Black and the Paul Miller had commented that the Black was disappointing in tracking ability.
My personal experience with the 2M series is that product quality is variable although they sound good. So it is a bit of a lottery as to where your sample sits in terms of ticking all the boxes.
One thing for sure is that the Ogura supplied styli are very nicely polished and aligned even for the Blue. However, the azimuth alignment of the cantilever is where the biggest variability comes so make sure to spend particular time on setting azimuth to get the best out of your Black as the Shibata tip is very demanding in setup accuracy given that the large bearing radius and curving contact line.
Regards Anthony

"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
RE: what an eye opener - mraudio 10:05:29 03/10/25 (0)
"Is the LVB much better than the Black?"

I wouldn't say "much" better, but IMHO, it's worth the extra money. You just get "more" of what's already there. If you like the 2M Black, you're sure to love the LVB...

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

McShane Design