The last phono cartridge I bought with my own money was a Shure M97xE for $60 back in 2005. (It's still available, but now selling for around $500. Don't ask me why.) It replaced the Ortofon Nightclub S (no longer available) that I'd been spinning with since getting back into vinyl in 1997. I was amazed at how much better the Shure sounded; probably because it had a brand new, unworn stylus and was a "Hi-Fi" cartridge designed for home use, and not a "DJ" cartridge as was the Ortofon.
Several years later I received a gift cartridge from my friend John (yes, the same John that supplied me with that connector back in July) that he'd pulled from the stockpiles of equipment he'd inherited from our mutual friend Joel, owner of The Turntable Factory, who'd passed away in 2007.
Among them was a Shure V-15 Type IV, a legendary piece of kit from back in the late 70s. John admitted it wasn't new, but assured me it there was very low mileage on the stylus. I gave it a spin, and I loved it. It became my daily driver for many years (probably way more than it should have), but I rationalized its continued use by saying I really wasn't playing that much vinyl, thereby keeping the stylus wear to a minimum. That is, until the day arrived that I had to admit it was quite overdue for replacement.
Shure was obviously no longer making stylii for what was then a 35 year old cartridge, and even if they had been, I wasn't swimming in cash at the time, making even the third-party after-market replacements that were available prohibitively expensive. (I told you this had been a good cartridge.)
After discussing this with John and admitting I didn't have a clue what to replace it with (and after living with it for several years I couldn't easily return to the M97—which also needed a new stylus at that point—John told me not to sweat it; he had others in his inventory he would gladly send me.
The next care package to arrive (back in 2015 or thereabouts) contained an Ortofon OM 5E. The sound was okay. I mean, I was in a vinyl lull, not buying much anyway and the sound was definitely better than the worn Type IV, so I got used to it. When it came time earlier this year to replace its stylus and I was faced with the same dilemma of keeping and replacing the cartridge or replacing the whole thing with something else, John came through with another new OM as well as a spare stylus.
Admittedly, the new stylus made a world of difference, and was happy with the sound…until.
Until I got the new loudspeakers in August.
The sound I got from the OM was good enough for my old Infinitys, but the new JBLs are unforgiving, pointing out that the OM was just lacking. Lacking in what I couldn't exactly say. Even keeping in mind my severely limited high frequency hearing, the sound just seemed dull. (Getting old is a bitch. I don't recommend it.)
So I got off my ass and started doing research. I'd heard the Orofon 2M Red was good (after all it's what Technics is pre-mounting on their new 1500C turntable), but after reading reviews and watching more YouTube videos than I care to admit, I decided to take it up a notch and ordered an Ortofon 2M Blue.
It arrived today.
After having spent only about two hours with it so far, I'm absolutely blown away. I wasn't expecting much—the reason I bought it from Amazon, ensuring an easy return if I decided it wasn't worth it—but it's exactly as good as everyone described. And it hasn't even broken in yet! Even with my old-age hearing loss, it's like I've been running around with cotton in my ears all these years. From a brand new pressing of Dave Brubeck's Take Five to a 40 year old copy of Fern Kinney's Groove Me, the sound is phenomenal.