Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Ortofon 2M Blue Phono Cartridge by couger4u

Model:	2M Blue
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$199.00
Description:	Moving magnet cartridge with replaceable nude elliptical stylus
Manufacturer URL:	Ortofon
Model Picture:	View

Review by couger4u on January 01, 2012 at 10:05:17
IP Address: 74.72.183.65 Add Your Review
for the 2M Blue

When I looked at my inventory of cartridges I despaired as I had only the ones that were mounted on my three turntables and nothing else. I had lost all my backups due to one mishap or another. I wanted at least one that I can keep but was not that desperate to buy one yet.

That changed as sadly another accident happened and I lost the cantilever of my much beloved AT-ML150/OCC on a Technics SL 1200 MKII. That prompted me to immediately look for another. I was not particularly looking for a MM/MC cartridge but one that would satisfy my thirst for playing records, as if I did not have that with my other turntables. I like to have three different sounds coming from my turntables to satisfy my thirst for music. I have an Ortofon super OM 40 and Denon DL-160 on my other turntables. I know what some would say that if I have OM 40 then what I am doing with another Ortofon. I would say read on.

I looked at needle doctor website and was looking at Ortofon cartridges first and looked at blue and immediately liked it as it was in my budget and a big plus was the threaded holes for easy installation. I ordered it from William Thakker on eBay as he had the lowest price and in 7 working days received it.

I must say it is beautiful to look at. I am partial to Blue and the contours of this cartridge augment the color. The only thing I did not like were the screws that came with it. Too small to fit my Sumiko headshell so I had to look for little bigger ones. Having found some I installed it on my SL 1200 and was up and running in five minutes. It’s that easy yes.

First impressions always change when listening to a brand new cartridge as it breaks in so I let it do its work and listened to music be it with weak bass, treble sounding hard and midrange so so. After about 20 hours it settled down and then I was listening to it and making my judgment on the sonic character.

Bass picked up, treble got a little better with shimmer at the top and midrange was good but the cartridge still sounded hard on the drums. On my Cerrone LP ‘Supernatural’ side A where the segment is all drums it was as if the drummer was hitting a brick wall if you know what I mean. It was not bad but when bass guitar was playing on other LP’s it was so much better with the bass coming in as euphonic. Midrange was much better with the sound of the singer’s voice coming in nicely.

There was not much soundstage to speak of. The presentation was forward but not in your face type. It was different than OM 40 as that cartridge has plenty of soundstage and sounds different also. As it is mounted on a different TT with different tonearm there is not any need to compare them much. The 2M blue is a very clear sounding cartridge. I was surprised at this as the only cartridge that sounded clearer than this was my Lyra Dorian at least to me. Surface noise was negligible and there were no problems in tracking any records but sibilance on some records ticked me off a little. This was turning out to be a good cartridge but for the sibilance though not as bad as some cartridges but there nonetheless.

Now a little about when the cartridge fully breaks in, which I had always believed in and also you can hear it when it does. On some cartridges it is subtle and on some you actually hear it. I heard it on this and on OM 40 when that opened up. I heard a rumble for a second on 2M Blue and heard a sound like a short in the electrical connection on the OM 40. Believe it or not it’s up to you but I know what I heard. In both cases the soundstage expanded, the bass lost the hardness, the treble got sweeter and midrange became excellent. The bass on the 2M is now tight and tuneful not wooly or fuzzy but not as big as with OM 40 or Denon DL-160 maybe because this is on DD TT and the other are suspended TT’s. The high end is also a little less then Denon but that is a MC and this being MM. Sibilance can still be heard on some records but is reduced somewhat after the breakin but is still there. This is a fast moving cartridge and makes you wanting more of the same with better sound and bigger soundstage with no sibilance but under $200 it is a contender. The sound of instruments had the right decay and character. This is not a cartridge that while listening to music you fall asleep like some other cartridges but keeps you awake with its presentation. Nothing jumps out at you and the music is presented as it is. As everybody else says about this cartridge, it is neutral in its presentation. I am right now listening to Deep Purple ‘Stormbringer’ and enjoying this cartridge immensely.

Another thing after listening to this cartridge for 20 hours, when it settled down a little, I so liked it that I ordered the 2M Bronze and that is saying something about how this cartridge has affected me that I would spend so much dough on another of the same family and hoping it is better than this.

Thank you for reading this and have a very happy new year.

Product Weakness:	Sibilance on some records, soundstage can be better.
Product Strengths:	Bass, Midrange, Highs.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Hafler 9270
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audible Ilusion L2B/Aesthetix Rhea
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Technics SL 1200 MKII
Speakers: NHT 2.3
Cables/Interconnects: Hovland MG2
Music Used (Genre/Selections): POP, Rock, New Age.
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Hafler 9270
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audible Ilusion L2B/Aesthetix Rhea
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Technics SL 1200 MKII
Speakers:	NHT 2.3
Cables/Interconnects:	Hovland MG2
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	POP, Rock, New Age.
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner