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Suggestions to upgrade from 2M Red

A

akcr5981

New Member
Hi!

My 2M Red stylus is at the end of its life, but I'm not sure how best to go from here. Hoping for some advice from the experts!

What I have:
  • Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Acrylic platter (and stock 2M red cart)
  • Denon PMA1500R integrated amp (modded by guy I bought it from to bypass equalizer/new caps/new potentiometer)
  • 3-way W. German-made Sony speakers, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80ohm, Grado 325
What I'm considering:
  • Direct upgrade to 2M Blue nude stylus (using existing Red cart body) (cheapest)
  • 2M Blue stylus + getting the Pro-Ject Speedbox (I don't mind manual speed change however) (~roughly same cost as nicer cart)
  • Denon DL-110 MC cartridge (but is it compatible? already have the acrylic platter, so no steel platter issues with the MC cart)
  • 2M Bronze cartridge (most expensive, least attractive)
I'm not interested in just replacing the 2M red stylus with another.

Any suggestions welcome! Thanks.
 
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This year I replaced my AT 440MLa w/ an Ortofon 2M Blue ... really like the cartridge on my Tech SL 1210M5.
Replaced due to age of AT. I'm using a Ortofon 2M Red on my other TT .... Music Hall MMf 2.1.

IMHO ... Red is nice starter but Blue is definitely a ste
 
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Only cost, nothing to do with looks or performance...it's very much at the upper end of what I'd be convinced to spend. Also wondering if it's a bit too nice for the rest of my gear. Surely too nice for my speakers, but headphones? I doubt my amp/phono preamp is at all limiting here.

I'll have to keep an eye out for a better price...I'm located in the Netherlands where I see them for sale for 360EUR compared to 160EUR for the Blue stylus. I can also buy in the US, if that's where these deals you speak of are to be found.
 
akcr: Alternatively you could consider the cheap & cheerful Ortofon option and combine a used 5x0(II)/VinylMaster body with the needle 320. That's a bonded FineLine only, but during the LM/TM/Hifi-Concorde era Ortofon also chose a bonded FineLine for the needles 20/20H - and funnily enough Ortofon hasn't significantly raised the price for that needle for quite a few years now, so it has become cheaper than Ortofon's bonded ellipticals in the meantime, so that the needle 320 now buys you more for less.

So, if you'd like a neat upgrade at a moderate cost, I'd suggest you to consider that alternative.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Not quite, Joseph - fortunately, the 3xx needles are uncoded and can be used on the 5x0(II)/VinylMaster-Bodies without any modifications.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
FWIW
I have the same TT set up.....Debut Carbon, acrylic platter, speed box....I found the Blue Stylus for < $150.....and to me it was a no-brainer. It's in my bedroom system, and I'm satisfied that it was money well spent.

KJR
 
I own this table and can tell you from experience what worked for me. First: The Speed Box is one of the biggest improvements you can do. Really quite dramatic. Next: The 2M Blue is a great cartridge for this table. I have it on my Debut now. To me, that is your best way to go with this table.

By the way. For a while I had a 2M Black on this table and it was wonderful. That cartridge is now on my Music Hall 9.1.
 
Really depends on what sort of sound signature you like, but I can say that if you like the Grado sound, Grados go really well with the Debut Carbon. I'm currently running the Grado Prestige Black1, which is more of a sidegrade than an upgrade from your 2M Red, but I personally found it to be a step up from the 2M Red and personally I found it to be a better match for the table (for example the 2M Red picks up a lot of the motor noise, while the Grado picks up none.). I eventually intend to get the 8MZ stylus for it.

If you like the way the 2M Red sounds, then the obvious option is simply going for the 2M Blue stylus.

The DL110 should work fine on the Debut Carbon with the acrylic platter, in fact I seem to recall seeing a video of someone using it on this table.

One big thing of note is if you recently bought the Debut Carbon, you should NOT get the Speedbox. The Speedbox only works for the old AC version of the Debut Carbon. So if you have the newer DC version, you're out of luck, the Speedbox won't work for it. That's why they released the

So if you have the DC version, then you can rule out option 2, and it's just a toss up between the 2M Bronze, the DL110, and other options (Like the Grados I mentioned).
 
I'd step up to the Blue stylus. I have both the Red and the Blue, and the difference is noticeable. Good luck in your search!
 
Hi all, thanks for the continued advice.

I visited a hifi shop where I had the opportunity to hear both a 2M Silver (which is apparently the red with silver wiring?) and the 2M bronze back-to-back on quite a nice system (Pro-Ject Xpression and some speakers I can't afford). The bronze was *really* nice, and I think it cemented my desire for it.

As I learned, Speedbox isn't an option since I have the newer EU version of the table. The hifi shop guy said not to bother with it regardless, so that's out of consideration for me.

@JesusGreen Concerning the Grado carts, I'm not actually a huge fan of the Grado sound signature (that of the open-back headphones, if that's what you mean; not sure how that translates to their cartridges). It can be quite fatiguing to me, so I hadn't really considered their offerings here.

@needlestein I found a Marktplaats (Dutch ebay) seller who has a good price on the Bronze, a bit better than most of the webshops I found based in Germany.
 
The Bronze is a nice cartridge....I chose it 2nd overall in Fremer's 9 cartridge survey, after the AT150ANV. And I'm not even what you'd call an Ortofan. :D
 
I'd look at a Pickering XSV3000 + after market shibata or hyper elliptical stylus though that's just me. I've found that the Grace F8L is incredible paired with a Jico VN35HE NeoSAS as well. One of my best carts. You have to be willing to mod to run that though
 
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