I've never owned a 2M Red, but it was interesting reading various reviews of it. One did address your comment about associated equipment. In his first review he found that "the Ortofon 2M Red was very bright and forward sounding with excessive noise," and he received manufacturer feedback that he "did not give the 2M Red enough break-in time." In a later review, and trying different equipment, he wrote:
"What a difference matching the right components can make. There was a significant improvement over my previous experience, especially with the excessive noise disappearing. I am surprised the manufacturer did not point out that the Red’s high output might have overloaded my stereo system and that component matching is critical. Once the noise was reduced, wonderful clarity became apparent. The bass was fairly deep. The midrange is a little more forward than my
Sumiko Rainier ($149) and Olympia ($199). The previously-excessive highs were gone and balance between channels was even."
Last year I gave a very positive review of the Ortofon MC1 Turbo, a high-output moving coil phono cartridge ($240). During the review I compared it to the popular Ortofon 2M Red moving magnet cartridge ($99). I found the MC1 Turbo to have a nice, relaxed sound, whereas the Ortofon 2M Red was...
www.dagogo.com
Another review offered this possibility:
"The Ortofon 2M Red is certainly a very entertaining cartridge, providing a big, solid, spacious sound with good detail and excellent dynamics. The delivery is crisp and punchy across the entire frequency range, with a particularly nicely textured bass, and can be very impressive on well-recorded material. So why the divided opinions from other users? This is still a bit of a mystery to me. I have even wondered about the possibility of sample variations – perhaps I have a particularly good example, though I doubt it. The slight treble brightness is probably at the root of some people’s dissatisfaction with this cartridge. I would certainly counsel against using it in a bright system, although its sparkle and dynamics could be invaluable in pepping up a dull system. So, my advice would be to consider this cartridge seriously but proceed with caution, depending on your system and tastes."
Type: Moving Iron (MI)Stylus: Bonded EllipticalCompliance: MediumPrice: £95 Background I was puzzled as to why the Ortofon 2M Red was attracting such mixed opinions on forums and in reviews. So, I …
phono-cartridge-reviews.co.uk
The above two comments both make sense to me. With regard to output level, the importers of three different pieces of gear I've owned cautioned against using any cartridge with an output higher than 5.0 mV at 1 kHz, 5 cm/s, and while the 2M Red is only slightly higher than that, it's enough to keep me from wanting one. With regard to tonal balance, an earlier comment in the second review cited above compared the 2M Red with the M97xE, saying, "The 2M Red is in stark contrast to the (now discontinued) Shure M97xE, which also retailed for under £100. The warm, comfy sound of the Shure is replaced with a sound that seems so much more alive in terms of dynamics and detail. But this is all down to taste." My taste happens to be in the direction of warm and comfy; I loved the M97xE while it was still in production, and that same reviewer described the AT3600L that I've been happy with for most of the last 4 1/2 years as, "it is a very easy listen and thoroughly entertaining. Its warm tones and gentle treble will appeal to a lot of people."
