Phono Cartridge Comparisons

[InbetweenDreams]

Not sure if any of you are "audiophiles" but I am considering (in the future) to upgrade the stylus/cartridge on my turntable. The turntable I have came with a Ortofon 2M Red which is the bottom of the line for the 2M series, but it's a good setup but I feel that it could be better but I'm not so sure the "problems" I have are due to having an inadequate setup.

That being said and before I go any further, this isn't a discussion on why don't you just listen to digital audio like everyone else in 2017. Let's keep it on vinyl in this thread, but I am happy to talk about audio formats and mediums. I enjoy watching Techmoan's channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/Techmoan) a lot...

Anyway, what I experience is inner groove distortion, which is common and the idea is that a fine line stylus (featured on the 2M Bronze stylus) will reduce or correct the problem...

This is what I'm referring to... (minus the 60 Hz hum -_- )




No they don't sound that bad on my system...but same effect.

Although some records like this one (and this IS my system in this video) are just mastered too damn loud...and well distortion...Nothing can fix this... That and I suppose this record was played on a jukebox back in the day...




Now comes for the "should I do this part"

One thing I do know is that often the stylus and catilever make a bigger difference than the cartridge itself. I have listened to many videos and the difference is very subtle between cartridges using the same needle...but in my own experience there can be a HUGE difference between stili. I used to use a Technics turntable, one of those direct drive turn tables from the 80's (can't think of the model, something like QD-33?) and I bought a replacement stylus for the Shure M800 cartridge, it was a cheap one but supposed to be an elliptical diamond). Well the difference was night and the the old stylus which I thought might have been worn out sounded way better, louder, better channel separation, fidelity, it was clear...kind of like going from AM to FM, or Ferric tape to Chrome tape.

So I have a hard time believing I need to buy a $440 cartridge when I can just buy the stylus which will fit the 2M red (all the stili on the 2M are interchangeable with all the 2M cartridges...red stylus will fit a 2M bronze, or black, blue, etc..)

The grades go red, blue, bronze, black...and the prices go up from there... So my thinking is that I would benefit just as well getting an upgraded stylus over replacing both which of course costs more and all the fun that comes with alignment.

Speaking of alignment, that may be the problem...so once I can print an alignment sheet and check it again I can only suspect that's the issue... Anti-skate, overhang and that sort of thing shouldn't the a problem...I've checked the anti-skate and it's fine and the headshell is part of the tonearm... I guess I should clarify what I have... I have a Project Debut Carbon... http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?pr...es&lang=en

Preamp is a Project Phono Box S and replaced the platter with a clear acrylic one...does make it quieter in between songs...

Anyway, I kind of wished this guy included the 2M red but I pretty well can tell that when you move over to the 2M bronze things do seem a bit brighter and crisp over the Blue and the 2M black, well I can't tell a difference and we're not going there, not forking out that kind of cash...




So one thing, play in 1080p or the compression is just too much to tell anything apart imo... What I'm hoping is someone to confirm.. I've listened with headphones and through my Klipsch floor speakers and while it is a small difference I think it is there... or am I fooling myself in hearing things?

[InbetweenDreams]

Ok so I got the Ortofon 2M Bronze after so many people said it was a huge upgrade and well it is a huge upgrade, probably a bit over priced. My beef is inner groove distortion but the 2M bronze definitely digs deeper and brings out more of that's there. Of course if you want more, buy a CD if you ask me.

Ultimately I failed, I broke a wire coming from the the tonearm and had to repair and it is a nothing short of a nightmare trying to solder wires about as thick as a cat whisker. The other thing was aligning the cartridge, I got it in the ball park, probably could be tweaked a bit more but not too bad for a quick install. The odd thing which I cannot seem to explain is why the anti-skate is way off, but I ended up having to add extra weight to get the anti-skate correct.

The bad news is that the 2M red cartridge literally fell apart taking the wires off. So yes, the 2M red very much a budget cartridge, just a bit over priced after seeing how it was just slapped together....

Anyway I have uploaded to my webserver two uncompressed 24bit / 96 kHz samples about 15 seconds long from the inner most track from "Some Nights" by Fun, this is a track that has notorious amounts of inner groove distortion. I'm not saying which is which, I'll let you be the judge: Both samples have been level matched, although both cartridges are loud as fuck (red was 5.5 mV and the Bronze is 5.0mV)

Sample 1:
http://axle.servebeer.com/wp-content/upl...it_96k.wav

Sample 2:
http://axle.servebeer.com/wp-content/upl...it_96k.wav

Most computers, whether they're setup to play 24-bit audio will play it anyway and shouldn't make much difference, the files are about 16-18 MB so may take a few to download and about to post this to audiokarama and see that they think the deal is with my anti-skate issue that just popped up out of the blue or if it is anything to worry about...

[InbetweenDreams]

Ok so here is a *much better* comparison... Seems the new 2M Bronze is way way louder than the 2M red was despite the specifications stating otherwise....

So for the nth time I have posted this song and mentioned that I have this record of "The Sunscreen Song" that was popular back in 99. If what I read is right I have 1 of 1,000 made.

Anyway the Ortofon 2M Red is an entry level cartridge and an elliptical stylus. The 2M Bronze is an upgrades cartridge body but any of the 2M styli are interchangeable, meaning the 2M red stylus will fit on a 2M Bronze and so on. The Bronze's stylus is a a nude fine line (no not nude in the context you're thinking). Nude means the whole diamond is mounted to the cantilever and not mounted to a piece of metal and glued... How big of a difference it really made whether it is a tipped diamond or a nude diamond is not known to me but what is known to me that a fine line stylus is a huge difference...hear for yourself... I took this at the very end of the record which in the past always sounded like shit with inner groove distortion with the 2M red. The difference between the two are significant.

The file sizes are 32 MB roughly and contain 192 kHz samples / 24-bit (about as high as you can get without buying crazy expensive hardware, etc). They are uncompressed, WAV files, if you cannot play them, try saving them first, if you still can't play them just let me know and I can downmix them to normal 16 bit /44.1 kHz which everyone would be able to play.

Ok enough of that...

Otofon 2M Red Sample

Otofon 2M Bronze Sample