As requested, I’ve been keeping my mouth shut in regards to the Bronze, but on “howler monkey” I have to cast my vote.I’ll put my hand up to that. Fucking howler monkey of a cartridge screaming at me!
As requested, I’ve been keeping my mouth shut in regards to the Bronze, but on “howler monkey” I have to cast my vote.I’ll put my hand up to that. Fucking howler monkey of a cartridge screaming at me!
purpleheart has a kind of resin-y scent to it and will turn dark if you let it get sunlight on it. it's really lovely wood.I have absolutely no idea..I assumed it was just stained but lord knows.
Who did you use to retip the Hana? Mines at the end of life on the current tip.@Mather - may be an odd question, but I’ll ask anyway. Did you ever try the Bronze stylus in place of the Black on the 2M? I rather liked the Bronze on my VPI, although I had not heard the Black.
When I retipped my Hana SL, I went with a line contact stylus instead of the Shibata on the recommendation of the re-tipper and have been quite happy with the result.
“... the 2M Bronze is the more satisfying over the long haul, halving the difference between the Black's speed and resolution and the Blue's balance. In fact ... it is a mixture of all of these sonic virtues. It's fast, but not ostentatiously so; it turns information into music, and it does this because it is better balanced, neither leaning in one sonic direction or another. I would say that it represents not just the 2M line's sweet spot but also its musical core. ...” - Marc Mickelson, The Audio Beat
Edit: Added the quote
@Selaws - So now that you’ve settled in nicely with the Blue, when do you try out the Bronze?I ordered an Ortofon 2M Blue stylus after chatting with @Joe Mac and @Mather the other day, and have just had quite an interesting call.
The supplier that I ordered the stylus from rang to say that suppliers across the country are having difficulty getting any Ortofon products because recent demand has been so high. He didn't have any of the 2M Blue in stock and he said it would be March/April time next year until they got any in. What he did have was the 2M Blue Cartridge and kindly offered to send that instead (the box was marked so I don't think he would sell it anyway).
I got an education this week regarding cartridge moving mass. A member at ASR accumulated a database of effective tip mass from published cartridge specs which I reviewed.I don’t think you can look at anything on a stylus/cartridge assembly in a vacuum.
I’d totally agree the 2m Blue has lower moving mass than the 2m Red due the nude mounted stylus. Moving Magnet cartridges have the highest moving mass though. Moving Coils have less. Moving Iron have the least.
I’d be willing to wager a bet that the Grado Prestige series has much lower moving mass as opposed to any Moving Magnet cartridge, even with their bonded styli. The only part that moves in a Moving Iron cartridge (Grado, Nagaoka MP, Goldring 2000 series, Soundsmith) is the cantilever itself. The magnets and coils are stationary.
Very cool info!I got an education this week regarding cartridge moving mass. A member at ASR accumulated a database of effective tip mass from published cartridge specs which I reviewed.
The upshot: some MMs have lower moving mass than some LOMCs and Soundsmiths were in the middle of the pack. Advancements in magnets have likely helped reduce MM moving mass. Different cantilever materials/designs can have a significant impact on moving mass for carts of any type.
It may not change your mind about your preferences for specific carts, but I did find the rebuttal of conventional wisdom to be intriguing.
Phono Cartridge Equivalent/Effective Tip Mass Master List
****EDIT: As of Aug 23, 2024 I will no longer be updating this list. The latest information can be found: https://docs.myhi.fi/ **** Dropping this here to get it off my desktop. The original list was posted on VE IIRC, though I've added a lot to it. All the original numbers were three...www.audiosciencereview.com
I’ve come to believe temptation is why N&G persists!
Many carts can be divisive; I rather liked the Bronze on my Traveler (surprisingly) when I borrowed one for a few days. I may have felt differently if I had it for weeks. I may still go back to the owner to see how much he’d want for it.All I’ll say is that bronze cartridge is as divisive as hell, I hate it, so I might want to demo it first. Also a full cartridge swap rather than the stylus one up to the blue.
Many carts can be divisive; I rather liked the Bronze on my Traveler (surprisingly) when I borrowed one for a few days. I may have felt differently if I had it for weeks. I may still go back to the owner to see how much he’d want for it.
But, I certainly would not recommend the Bronze if a person was on the fence about the Blue - @Selaws is not. But, for the record, I still prefer the Nagaoka MP-300.
I find this interesting and I think it really speaks to how different systems influence cart sound because my only criticism of the Bronze was that it could sound very sterile and CD ish but in no way at all did it howl on my system, quite the opposite it was almost too polite.I actually really like the blue, for its price range it’s fantastic and it’s a big step up from the red as a stylus swap. In the same range for a full cartridge I’d probably go Grado gold.
The bronze is by a distance the worst cartridge I ever heard. I wasn’t being entirely flippant saying screaming howler monkey in the other thread, I just found it a really painful listen. I’d always tell anyone considering it to exercise extreme caution, even if they like the blue.
I find this interesting and I think it really speaks to how different systems influence cart sound because my only criticism of the Bronze was that it could sound very sterile and CD ish but in no way at all did it howl on my system, quite the opposite it was almost too polite.
I had the Silver that came with my table which was the Red with silver coils and I couldn't get it off my table soon enough, it was so painfully sharp. The Bronze had absolutely none of that on my rig, it was a completely pleasant listen, but too pleasant at times. So yeah very different experiences.My biggest criticism of the blue was that I could get a little bit sibilant on sharp piano notes or higher pitched female vocals. My experience of the bronze was just that x20. I will say it was on demo and not in my own system but that demo ensured it was never coming within a million miles of my system.
I had the Silver that came with my table which was the Red with silver coils and I couldn't get it off my table soon enough, it was so painfully sharp. The Bronze had absolutely none of that on my rig, it was a completely pleasant listen, but too pleasant at times. So yeah very different experiences.
Joe and I have very similar takeaways when it comes to the 2M Blue and Bronze. Different systems, but I found the Blue more musical than the Bronze. It might be unfair as I auditioned the Bronze right after a Grado, but it literally sounded like there was a high pass filter at like 125Hz in comparison. Just no low end whatsoever, and what was there was boxy in comparison to a Grado. For the extra detail up top, I dunno - vinyl's rolled off past like 12-13K anyway, doesn't need to sound like digital! Haha. That said, would love to hear a Bronze now a few more years down the line to see if I have the same takeaway.I actually really like the blue, for its price range it’s fantastic and it’s a big step up from the red as a stylus swap. In the same range for a full cartridge I’d probably go Grado gold.
The bronze is by a distance the worst cartridge I ever heard. I wasn’t being entirely flippant saying screaming howler monkey in the other thread, I just found it a really painful listen. I’d always tell anyone considering it to exercise extreme caution, even if they like the blue.