Ortofon 2M Blue Premounted Pickup Mounted on SH-4 Black Headshell

I bought this as a replacement for some aging discontinued cartridges - AT120 and Shure N97XE. Those are both very fine cartridges and styli. The Ortofon Blue is better. Hearing nuances I had never heard before. I played the same record with the Shure and the Blue. Blue was far and away better sound. It's a good price performer between the red and bronze.

Well packaged and worth every penny. Brings out the wide sound especially on live albums

It’s great. Sounds wonderful, and very easy to install. I was using a factory cartridge and had no idea what I was missing.

I expected a small bump up over the AT-VM95E but the difference is staggering. So much more clarity, much finer details, and noticeably louder in a good way.If you are looking to bump up your record quality and you have a decent turntable already this is a great investment.

I would give this Ortofon Blue Stereo cartridge a 3.5 Stars. It offers slightly more detail than my Nagaoka MP-110 on the Audio-Technica LP 120XBT -USB TT , However, The Naga is Fuller and richer sounding across the board. I played the two cartridges on my Denon DRA-800H Receiver, set at Neutral Bass and Treble on one LP (Backman Turner Overdrive) as a kind of personal test. The Nagaoka MP-110 was definitely better to my ear. Perhaps there is a "Burn in" on the Ortofon. I will try that for a few hours of play to see if there is a difference or improvement. If not, The Ortofon will be returned.UPDATE to My Previous Review: I "Bumped" the rating to 5 Stars! I played the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge for another Test Run vs the Nakaoka MP -110. PLayed a different LP, Judy Collins Best Hits. Set the controls to Neutral (Bass & Treble) on the same stereo and Turntable. The clarity was definitely perceptible , more detail was heard than the Naga. Yes, Maybe a bit Brighter , so I took the treble down 1 notch. The Naga maybe a bit a more Full, but with the Ortofon I heard greater Sound Stage and clarity. Goes to Show you, either the other LP I played in the earlier review was not of the same quality. Now Judy Collins is filling the room!! Fortuntely I never started a return and decided to give this cartridge another chance. It's definitely a Keeper

After breaking in the cartridge for several months I will say the stylus has a nice neutral clean sound. Rich highs and warm bass. I will invest in the black in the future because reading many reviews and most say the black is a big upgrade to the blue.

This product plays music nice and clear. Nice separation and distinctive highs and lows.

Was running an AT-WMN95 Conical cart, on a Technics Sl-D3 into a H. H. Scott 222C tube amp. Wasn't sure I needed an upgrade, but went for it anyway. Wow, what a difference! I'm hearing more pronounced vocals and fuller mid-range. The pre-mounted lined up perfectly and all I needed to do was adjust the tracking weight. Well worth the investment.