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2M Black / AT440MLa / MP500 setting and comparison

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Fatmangolf View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2023 at 8:23pm
I think you are right and that different stylus shapes allow this.
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RichW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2023 at 10:46pm
End-of-side distortion - compression, confusion and smudging. It just seemed to be something to put up with ...
Hearing an end-of-side orchestral climax or a band at full tilt with no drop in resolution is an ear opener
after being accustomed to preconceptions of what LP sound is capable of.

A little considered and careful setup of a cartridge with a 'fussy' tip that needs to sit in the groove 
just so - is worth it.
It's an interesting exercise in micro engineering.



Edited by RichW - 20 Jan 2023 at 10:52pm
Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Lucabeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Feb 2023 at 9:53pm
Anyway... In January, apart from the stylus replacement on the AT 440MLa, I have been using the Ortofon 2M Black A LOT. I put up some 50 hours on it in just one month. With headphones, no casual listening.

Still a love/hate relationship with it, even when perfectly set. With good pressings... boy, does it shine! You may not like the music, but Muse have an excellent history of quality pressings, and all their albums sound fantastic on vinyl with the 2M Black. Arctic Monkey's AM, ditto. Metallica's St Anger... ditto. But also Red Hot Chili Peppers, Opeth, New Order... They all sound great, with meaty bass AND extended highs, on this cartridge.

But take something pressed/mastered not as well... Take a record with hints of sibilance on the vocals, and it's amplified. Take a record with high-ish noise floor, and it will become distracting. Take a record with a couple of pops, and they will sound like gunshots. Take a record with hot mixing and ringing cymbals, and your ears will bleed.

In the past I stated that I used to prefer the Bronze stylus as it's more tolerant of less than perfect pressings, while not losing quality with the perfect ones. I still stand to that predicament.

Some say the Black is fussy with its setting. Maybe, but it's even fussier with the quality of the LP it's riding on, to the point of being (at times) distracting from the enjoyment of the music.

And I don't know if I have already suggested it in the past, but try to find a good copy of this:


It should be cheap... I found a pristine copy in my father's records. The music may be a bit cheesy at times, but the virtuoso playing is impressive. And sonically, it's one of the best records I have ever heard. No surface noise at all, and the frequency extension, transparency and clarity is impressive, and the same can be said about pacing, drive, decay and liveliness. 60 years old, and you would be excused for thinking it was a high res digital recording rather than a 12" slice of PVC recorded with "obsolete" equipment. Decca really knew what they were doing...


Edited by Lucabeer - 02 Feb 2023 at 10:19pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote morris_minor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2023 at 11:22am
I totally agree about Les Paul Now! Decca Phase 4 at its peak Smile

Four years ago I did a video of side 2 with my now defunct Ortofon Vivo Red on a Sony Biotracer with the Reflex M and Elevator doing the heavy lifting.

Enjoy the cheesy listening LOL



Bob

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Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2023 at 6:19pm
Virtuoso indeed!
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Lucabeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 May 2023 at 9:35pm
A few months ago I had to replace the stylus to the AT440MLa.

Now it's the turn of the stylus of the 2M Black... and I won't replace it because I still have a Bronze stylus with only 120 hours on it.

But let me issue, once again, a warning. I exchanged the AT microline stylus after 500 hours, after hearing some nasty glaring distortion during loud orchestral passages in the inner grooves.

The same symptom rang an alarm bell on the Ortofon, too (on another record, though). In the last days it was already sounding a bit muddy and with less detail with busy music. But no painful distortion, and perfect with many other records. But tonight... well, it was obvious. Loud notes would tear up in one channel, plain and simple.

That record was quite old and I hadn't played it for years, so I could not say if it was the LP or the stylus. For confirmation, I used the Hi-Fi News test record, and it couldn't track ANY of the 300 Hz tracks - not even the "easy" ones, without at least a hint of buzzing in one or both channels, no matter the VTF and antiskate. And I even tried cleaning the stylus with the Ortofon brush, and with Audio Technica fluid.

Just to confirm that it was not a problem of alignment, I swapped the stylus with the Bronze one without even unmounting the headshell. Distortion disappeared. Put the Black again, and the distortion was there again.

And do you want to know how many hours did the Black have? Only 430 (although not always with pristine records, that must be said). Less than the 500 of the AT when I had changed it. It doesn't qualify as significant statistics, but my case confirmed the saying that Microline should last longer than Shibata.

Anyway... As again said time ago by patient_ot, once more I will stress the concept: don't trust the "it will last 1000 hours". A stylus will probably wear out much earlier: keep your ears open.


Edited by Lucabeer - 05 May 2023 at 9:36pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote patientot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 May 2023 at 9:39pm
It would be very interesting if Ray Parkhurst could examine that worn 2M Black stylus. I know it's not so easy or cheap to be shipping even a small package around the world though.
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.
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