Ortofon 2M Black Ordered...

My last two cartridge purchases were the Goldring 1042 and Sumiko Pearl.

I used to have a 1042 a number of years back, but it got damaged. Unfortunately the new one has not lived up to what my memory expected. I will not comment further.

The Pearl is a... pearl! A bit "thick" in the mid band making strings sound like they're a heavier gauge but nicely detailed and quite spatial.

My old Ortofon VMS20EII is getting well beyond its expected lifespan but still sounds silky smooth in the cymbal area. Bass texture is good, but mid band I'm not taken - none of the gripping emotion I'd like to think I got once upon a time  from some cartridge or other (maybe/possibly).

So I thought I'd try me a new MM and I've heard good things spoken of the 2M Black and thought it worth a try. I ordered direct from Ortofon, not to do a dealer out of a sale, but to try and ensure the cartridge is in best health on receipt - factory fresh hopefully.

I will divulge my findings.

Graham

It suits my tastes very well - once set up optimally it is extremely neutral, tight deep bass, sparkling highs and tracks absolutely everything I have, even that HFN 'torture track'. I would not call the 2M Black 'warm' though - you seem to get exactly what is in the groove

I too use an Otofon VMS20EII and VMS30II with my Genera. The stylii are both in good condition, but due to their age the suspension might be a bit tired. What effect this has on the sound I cannot judge, but I much prefer it to the re-tipped Ortofon MC15 I used to used to use. They have a much smoother presentation with good extended bass, but as Graham notes the mid range is now perhaps a little recessed.
I have for some time toyed with the idea of 2M Black, so will be most interested to hear Graham's view.

A Story of Mystery and Suspense

This morning in perfect timing and as promised by Ortofon, the 2M Black arrived.

But then began a weird mind-journey of mystery and suspense.

I opened the carton and found two cartridges! The one I ordered - the 2M Black, properly packed, plus a Quintet Moving Coil Mono cartridge just chucked into the carton with no packaging around it!

No stylus guard - nothing protecting the stylus and embedded into the polystyrene chips - this estranged cartridge looked as if at haphazardly fallen into the carton from the heavens.

Is it scrap - a reject? Maybe used to save on polychips? Or is it a working cartridge? Nothing on the delivery note - no message saying "Graham, we thought you'd like to try this mono cartridge too - but we couldn't find its box".

So I put it on the shelf for later investigation and tried getting to grips with the 2M Black.

I bought the PnP version so I could swiftly attach it to my SL1210 arm - the PnP (plug'n'play) version comes attached to a plug-in headshell.

Having used nearly everything there is to try on a Technics arm, I was quite shocked and worried that I couldn't balance out the 2M Black! This is some heavyweight cartridge! And not having the Technics screw-in additional counterweight (meant for some disco cartridges), there was no way to set up the down-force.

I was happy to see the inclusion of an Ortofon stylus force gauge - at least I could set the weight with that? No, I couldn't! The Technics counterweight was as far back as it would go without falling off!

I thought that maybe the headshell was the culprit? So, removing the cartridge I plugged the headshell in on its own, and the arm was still stuck up with the counterweight fully forward.

Honestly I thought "sh*t! this cannot be happening to me?"

With all my 40 years experience the 2M Black had defeated me! What about all those other customers who'd shelled out £500+? (I could answer that but maybe I shouldn't...)

So I had to resort to Blutack.

One great glob of Bluetak wrapped around the middle section of the counterweight slide, and it still wouldn't balance out!

With the counterweight just latching onto its last thread by the skin of its teeth I was able to secure the recommended 1.5 grams by using the supplied stylus balance (which is very sticky and a bit suspect - unlike those they supplied in the 80's).

Unable to do any proper test record setting up I decided to just play something to have a listen.

A good test is Joe Walsh "Got Any Gum". Well, from cold the 2M Black is mightily impressive, but not any more impressive than my ageing VMS20EII. And that's about as far as this review can go - until I find a way to set the 2M Black up properly.

But I note it has many fans... maybe as it costs over £500 people feel they have to say great things and not say a word about it being such a dog to use?

Maybe if I add a nought onto my prices I'll get the same fame?