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Stanton 681 or Ortofon 2M Red MM cartridge?

Hammerton

Hammerton

Active Member
Hey. In the mood to spend about $100 for a new cartridge/stylus. Or at least new to me, if not new in box. I'd like to hear opinions on the 2 I've been considering: 1) used Stanton 681 w/low hours 6807A stylus. note: NOT 681EEE 2) new Ortofon 2M Red MM.
Both of the above are on that auction site for about $100 each, give or take; close enough to be considered the same cost to me.
Here's what I already have (if it influences your suggestion of 1 over the other).
* Shure Ultra 300 w/N140HE
* Shure M97XE w/N97XE
* Shure M91ED w/unknown Shure stylus
So, looking to add something to my lineup OUTSIDE of the Shure family! If you have other suggestions in the $100 range, please share them. I've got a 6100 Marantz TT. Looking forward to some good advice & thanks in advance.:music:
 
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I'm becoming a Grado fan, have the Blue and the Silver(in F1+ body). Might be you'd want to consider one. I find them warm and detailed with good bass. HTH, Preston
 
LPGear's stylus is not a StereoHedron or StereoHedron II, made by the old Stanton in Plainview, NY. It's a Shibata at best, which is close. I like both cartridges here. Both excel in one or more different areas. I use the 681 every day at home and at work, and have the full stylus range Stanton once offered. But I have the Ortofon on another setup at work and also love it.
 
I have a 2m red on my 1300 mk1 and its the fullest sound cartridge I've ever owned. I a/b'ed it with a grado black, which isnt a fair comparison since the grado costs about half as much, but FWIW, there is a very noticeable difference mainly in the tightness of the bass. the 2m red has very tight low end and gives good output of the mids without having it sound too boomy. The 2m Red tends to require very clean vinyl, as most pops and scratches seem to get a bit exaggerated to my ears.

I've never messed with the Shure or the Stanton, but I've tried the stanton 500 which is more or less a DJ cartridge and it was decent for the $30 price point
 
Hammerton said:
Hey. In the mood to spend about $100 for a new cartridge/stylus. Or at least new to me, if not new in box. I'd like to hear opinions on the 2 I've been considering: 1) used Stanton 681 w/low hours 6807A stylus. note: NOT 681EEE 2) new Ortofon 2M Red MM.
Both of the above are on that auction site for about $100 each, give or take; close enough to be considered the same cost to me.
Here's what I already have (if it influences your suggestion of 1 over the other).
* Shure Ultra 300 w/N140HE
* Shure M97XE w/N97XE
* Shure M91ED w/unknown Shure stylus
So, looking to add something to my lineup OUTSIDE of the Shure family! If you have other suggestions in the $100 range, please share them. I've got a 6100 Marantz TT. Looking forward to some good advice & thanks in advance.:music:
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Hi I hope your not thinking of buying that Stanton from a certain seller on ebay, his prices are ridiculous and let's just say his descriptions are a bit hazy.

The 2M red seller I'm not familiar with...............
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a used Stanton it's just that with that stylus 100 is way to much, I'd hold out for another one as they come up on ebay all the time unless you get outbid by said seller as is his practice..............

You mght want to consider a Nagaoka MP11.........
As far as the Shure's go the Ultra is the best of the bunch.......
 
Thanks for the headsup on buyer beware. The seller I'm considering has multiple Stanton 681 cartridge/stylus auctions & his feedback is 100% positive, so I thought it's safe. Good advice to hold out though & watch some auctions for a bit to get educated of real prices/market value.
 
I'd be wary of claimed low hours on used stylus that if not could cause damage to your valuable LPs. So if you go with the Stanton look for a replacement stylus. Genuine new old stock is getting harder to find and more expensive but has the original Stanton sound. Aftermarket stylus like the LPGear Shibata sound very nice too but with a slightly more modern sound, FWIW I use and like both stylus on my 681.

In addition to the Ortofon, Nagaoka, Stanton and Grado a few more not mentioned you might want to consider in or close to your price range are the Denon DL-110 and LPGear Deft-2.

Dave
 
I've never heard the Stanton 681 but have been running a Ortofon 2m Red for about a week now (Revolver TT / Sumiko MMT arm) and I have to say I'm very impressed so far.

I haven't ran other cartridges on this particular table for comparison,
but would say thats it's performance is considerably better than my experiences with the Shure M97XE and also the AT 440mla I'm running on my ROK at the moment.

Just one mans opinion you understand. I know others really like those cartridges.


RC
 
I am using the 681EEE.
They ARE the sound of many FM stations.
The Shure products are excellent and I would get new stylus for them. It seems 90% of the sound comes from the stylus and cantilever anyways.
Personally I would try a JICO stylus for one of your Shures, but the original M91ED is a sweet favorite of mine.
 
mr.chen said:
IThe 2m Red tends to require very clean vinyl, as most pops and scratches seem to get a bit exaggerated to my ears.
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I had a Ortofon Super OM10 and it exhibited the same record surface noise properties you mention. It made me keep my LPs clean. It also had the same overall sound you are describing with your 2M Red. I particularly remember the nice tight bass and great overall balance. I sold it w/ my SL-D2 turntable 6 mo. ago. Well, I just picked up another D2 and I'm looking at the 2M Red for it. Thanks for your input.
 
Picked up my Ortofon 2M Red tonight. I bought it off eBay for $64.00, and the seller said it had 20 hours on a ProJect Debut III. The seller was local and seemed like a good guy.

So I'm interested to see how it compares with my existing cartridge, an AT 3003 (at311) with an LP Gear line contact stylus. I ordered anotherr headshell, so I'll put it iin when that arrives.
 
doucanoe said:
have been running a Ortofon 2m Red for about a week now (Revolver TT / Sumiko MMT arm) and I have to say I'm very impressed so far.

Your avatar caught my attention! I used to frequent the AxMan Surplus (Midtown/University/Snelling) back when I lived near SunRay/3M. The signs describing the products on the shelves were the best! I assume they still are. Now I live in NY. I'll probably stop in at AxMan (and the TC's various Half Price Books stores) when I do my annual summer midwest swing. Be well. U still liking the Ortofon Red? I'm leaning toward it at this point...and there doesn't seem to be anymore input/opinions coming in this thread.
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OK, got the new headshell yesterday, and wasted no time getting the 2M Red mounted up and aligned. I set the overhang at 12mm per the Rotel manual, and aligned it from there using a Baerwald protracter. VTF is set at 1.8 gr.

MY first impressions are that the Ortofon cartridge is more detailed than its predecessor, and considerably brighter sounding. Tracking seems fine, with little if any tendency toward inner groove distortion, which has been mentioned as a possible issue with these cartridges. Compared with the line contact stylus I was using it does seem to pick up a little more surface noise.

Overall, it is a definate step forward for my system. I'm thinking I'll use it for most of my records, and revert to the old AT for my clunker thrift store LPs. What type of stylus tends to be the quietest with regard to surface noise? Conical or what? What is the best "junk record" cartridge?
 
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