Phono Cartridges - Your favorites and least favorites?

HayesWeighsIn said:
I've always liked the Blue! May end up getting some ear time on a Black/LVB at some point in the next few years. They're on my radar to try out.

Interesting takeaway for me here is if I'll think the Hana is too lean in the low end, I've never heard one.
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I don’t think I’d have ever taken that away from mine. The bass is good. Out of all the cartridges I’ve had I’d say the 2M Red & Blue were by far and way the leanest on the low end.
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
Is that a Shibata in general thing? Hell, maybe I’ll try AT’s 95 shibata first. That’s a hard price to argue with.
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Not really I think it’s a decision to make the 2M black very very transparent. I’d be interested to see how the nude shiabata on the LVB sounded in comparison.

But the Hana is plenty detailed but it isn’t harsh and it doesn’t over emphasise surface noise.
 
Joe Mac said:
Not really I think it’s a decision to make the 2M black very very transparent. I’d be interested to see how the nude shiabata on the LVB sounded in comparison.

But the Hana is plenty detailed but it isn’t harsh and it doesn’t over emphasise surface noise.
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Another thing is it tracks warps like nothing I’ve ever had. There is nothing that I’ve thrown at it that it can’t handle.
 
Mather said:
Black, great detail, great dynamics, great punch, BRUTAL for noise.
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I used a Bronze on the Traveler for a couple of weeks last year. I was surprised at my favorable impression of it. Steve at VAS informed me a while back that he could “re-tip” my Blue with a fine line stylus for less than the cost for a Bronze stylus. I decided to go the Hana SL path instead.
 
As much as I was singing the Hana’s praises the Quintet Black S was just better before I killed it. It is €350 more though and it does not like tracking any warps at all, its big arse gets in the way!
 
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Angsty said:
I used a Bronze on the Traveler for a couple of weeks last year. I was surprised at my favorable impression of it. Steve at VAS informed me a while back that he could “re-tip” my Blue with a fine line stylus for less than the cost for a Bronze stylus. I decided to go the Hana SL path instead.
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Yeah I have a bronze as my current backup. I enjoyed it when I had it, it's smooth if not somewhat sterile. I think it would be great in certain systems, in mine it was good but not great. The black just added the punch and detail that I found the Bronze somewhat lacking in on my rig.
 
Angsty said:
I’m almost blushing to admit how much I am enjoying the humble Ortofon 2M Blue sitting in place of my fancy-schmancy Hana ML on my Luxman table.

Tables matter, not just cartridges. The 2M Blue definitely sounds better than it did on my previous tables, despite the background noise problem I’ve written about on the VPI thread. The noise problem is not distracting when playing a record with the Blue, perhaps because of its higher output than my Nagaoka MP-300.

To my ear, the 2M Blue does not sound better than the Hana, but neither is it embarrassed by it. The Hana has less edge than the Blue - it is more refined. But surprisingly, the Blue has more low-end “thump”, especially with acoustic bass.

I’m not really in a hurry to swap it out, but just enjoying a change of scenery for a bit.
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Synergy is a real thing. ;)
 
Mather said:
Yeah I have a bronze as my current backup. I enjoyed it when I had it, it's smooth if not somewhat sterile. I think it would be great in certain systems, in mine it was good but not great. The black just added the punch and detail that I found the Bronze somewhat lacking in on my rig.
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Have you tried it on the Classic yet?
 
More on stylus profiles:

www.hifi-advice.com

Phono Cartridge Stylus Shapes

Want to know all there is to know about phono cartridge stylus shapes? Look no further as this article has all the essential information all in one place. It dives into the similarities, differences and overlap, explains the aspect of Contact Area and the differences between Bonded and Nude...
www.hifi-advice.com www.hifi-advice.com
 
One of my friend Dean's last acts of defiance was to lurch out of bed and fall onto one of his Large Advents knocking it into his Music Hall MMF-2 table wrecking the stylus on the original Goldring Elan cartridge. I want to replace the cartridge unless ya'll think getting a Chinese replacement stylus for the old cartridge is plausable. His wife still wants to listen to their records and I'm not a fan of Chinese knockoff crap. The online stylus choices all appear the same, even the ones that claim to be OEM with a price range of $14 to $81. Any recommendations for a modest replacement cartridge will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
OMC said:
One of my friend Dean's last acts of defiance was to lurch out of bed and fall onto one of his Large Advents knocking it into his Music Hall MMF-2 table wrecking the stylus on the original Goldring Elan cartridge. I want to replace the cartridge unless ya'll think getting a Chinese replacement stylus for the old cartridge is plausable. His wife still wants to listen to their records and I'm not a fan of Chinese knockoff crap. The online stylus choices all appear the same, even the ones that claim to be OEM with a price range of $14 to $81. Any recommendations for a modest replacement cartridge will be appreciated. Thanks.
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If you wanted to stick with goldring I believe the top 2 of their E series MMs review well. I believe @AnthonyI had and liked the E3 and they’ve since added another level up with the E4.

Sorry to hear about your pal. Hope you’re all coping well with the loss.
 
Joe Mac said:
If you wanted to stick with goldring I believe the top 2 of their E series MMs review well. I believe @AnthonyI had and liked the E3 and they’ve since added another level up with the E4.

Sorry to hear about your pal. Hope you’re all coping well with the loss.
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Thanks @Joe Mac for the thoughts. We, including his wife are doing okay and moving forward with cleaning up his estate. As for cartridge choices, I'd like to keep the cost below $100.
 
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