So, you are thinking about upgrading your turntable cartridge. You need a cartridge that extracts as much value and features for your money. Well, I have two plus two options that can fit your needs.
Ortofon 2M Bronze MM Review
This incredible moving magnet cartridge is a great companion to many turntables. It is most certainly an upgrade to your stock cartridge. If you are looking for this cartridge, you likely don’t own a €10,000 turntable with a €2,000 cartridge. This is your upgrade from the Ortofon 2M Red, Rega Carbon, or Pick it 2M.
The way the Ortofon 2M Bronze stylus picks up details and organizes them in sound helps your phono preamp, amp, and speakers produce a bigger soundstage with more details and definition. It gives your speakers more juice to resolve the sound and breathe new life into your music.
The Ortofon 2M Bronze has a nude fine-line diamond stylus. It is not as advanced as the Shibata diamond found in the step-up 2M Black, but it is a great stylus that brings more stability and handles extracting information and details well. It works hard to extract information without adding unnecessary noise.
Comparing the Bronze to the Blue and Black: the Blue provides more airiness, openness, and size when upgrading from the Red. The Bronze adds more information and details but does so in a balanced way, without emphasizing treble, bass, or midrange. The Black takes this formula and enhances the treble to deliver a more detailed and rich sound, making it a brighter cartridge compared to the warmer Bronze.
The warmth of the Bronze is amazing. It makes everything sound creamy and very easy to listen to. The bass and midrange are fuller and heavier, which can sometimes seem to lack details and might even be called boring. However, it is all about how you pair this cartridge. Pairing it with excessively warm speakers and amps might lose some details in the beautiful haze. From my experience, using this cartridge with tube amps or preamps is not a good combination. It works far better with solid-state amps and preamps. Tubes are warm by nature, and they will add even more warmth.
Despite excessive warmth, the Bronze will accommodate many speakers and amps, as well as many turntables and rooms. This is where the big plus of this cartridge lies: you don’t have to worry. It will work with anything, with varying results, but nothing unlistenable. Its creamy mids will seduce every listener, giving sounds shape and definition, and adding weight to the lower treble while providing textures and details.
In the end, it is a fantastic value cartridge, giving the best of all worlds for a reasonable price. Is the Black a better cartridge? Certainly. But it is not €200 better. The Black has better bass with more attack and agility, extracts and defines more details, and provides a great soundstage with equally talented amps. However, the Black is not for everyone, as it can expose every surface dirt and noise, and it will punish bad combinations. The Bronze is a far more forgiving cartridge for surface dirt or cuts on vinyl.
If you ask me which one to buy, I will always say Bronze for its best value and upgrade path. It shares the same body, so if one day you want to upgrade, you only need to buy a new stylus.
Best Alternative: Nagaoka MP-200
The best alternative for the Bronze is the Nagaoka MP-200. It is in a similar price range. While the Bronze has a warm, beautiful sound, the Nagaoka is less warm but more clean and transparent, and it extracts a bit more details. The listening experience is more precise to the original recording, allowing for a more clinical listening experience. It will steadily and precisely track the groove, and with some coloration, extract information.
It depends on your tastes which one of these two will be for you. If you prefer a more clinical listen with more details, go for the Nagaoka. If you prefer a relaxed and rich experience, go with the Bronze.
Moving Coil Magnet Option: Ortofon Quintet Blue
If you want a moving coil magnet but don’t want to spend too much, the best budget option is the Ortofon Quintet Blue. I wouldn’t call it the best value, but it is close. The reason is that it lacks the refinement and detail of more expensive cartridges. However, compared to MM cartridges in this price range, it dramatically opens the sound and exposes you to finer details in the recording.
Does this upgrade to Moving Coil bring you enough value to jump from Moving Magnet? The answer is yes, with a caveat. You need to have a good phono preamp and better gear, as moving coils are more sensitive to external issues, which can reflect poorly on bad gear. If you don’t have a quality phono preamp, it might be better to buy something like the 2M Black.
If you have a decent turntable and phono preamp, then yes, absolutely upgrade if you want to stay in the €400 to €450 range. The Quintet Blue organizes sound well, firmly defining treble, bass, and midrange, placing every element on the soundstage with weight and lane, opening the soundstage to seem bigger.
Alternative: Hana EH or EL
The best alternative to the Quintet Blue is the Hana EH or EL, similarly priced moving coils. One is lower output, and the other is higher output. You need to see how many dBs of output your phono preamp provides to choose the right one. Hana excels in fine extraction of details, with more timbre in vocals, texture definition in instruments, and a reverby feeling of preciousness. It doesn’t open the sound as much as the Quintet Blue, but the refinement in detail is more pronounced in the Hana. While the Quintet Blue is a bit airy, Hana is more concise and precise.
Both options offer a great taste of audiophile magic in a higher class but in two different presentations. Choosing one over the other depends on your preference.
Conclusion
Ortofon is one of the most versatile companies, creating budget-friendly to high-level cartridges, providing excellent value at every price level. I have highlighted two which can make many people happy and two great alternatives. I strongly recommend checking them out and continuing on the upgrade path to experiencing audiophile magic and bliss.
Thank you for watching this video. If you enjoy content like this, check out my other videos. If you can, please like, subscribe, or donate via Patreon.
Kommentarer