Review on Ortofon Red MM Cartridge by David Skyline

I really wanted to love this pickup as I have been eyeing it for many years and have had good experiences with the Ortofon OM range in the past. I've just bought a new turntable (Fluance RT80) complete with a thrift amp (Yamaha RX596) to be played through old Rogers db101 speakers and it seemed like the right time to try the Red, add an instant upgrade and (hopefully) achieving a budget-friendly sonic nirvana. Turns out it wasn't the best idea I've ever had. Maybe it's because of the compatibility with my gear but in the end I wasn't happy and disappointed. First, Orthophone is exquisitely packaged and looks amazing, looks expensive! Installation on the shell was easy as you don't need tiny screws. The screws attach to the cartridge itself, great idea. Tuning is a little tricky as the tapered design makes it difficult to align properly. Aside from the fact that this is a heavy wagon that rides fairly high, the only way to balance the Fluance's arm is to add extra weight. On the other side of the arm, it's certainly more of a deck design flaw than a bogie, but I think a lot of people can rely on this bogie to improve this turntable, so it's good to know. New entry. This setup sounded elegant, enthusiastic and lively. like a puppy looking for a walk but on old (used) vinyl, 2M seemed to pick up every bit of surface noise it could find and dug every crack out of the grooves. I tried to please, but it was tiring and unforgiving to the ear on my setup. I put it in the standard trolley (cheap AT91) for comparison and crackling and popping went down, as did the quality of the sound reproduction. I switched it back and tried more entries. Again, Red would have created a great scene, but showered it with claps and highlighted any abuse. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. I put it in the standard trolley (cheap AT91) for comparison and the crackling and popping went down, as did the quality of the sound reproduction. I switched it back and tried more entries. Again, Red would have created a great scene, but showered it with claps and highlighted any abuse. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So in my setup it just didn't work and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the web, are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. I put it in the standard trolley (cheap AT91) for comparison and the crackling and popping went down, as did the quality of the sound reproduction. I switched it back and tried more entries. Again, Red would have created a great scene, but showered it with claps and highlighted any abuse. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews, that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. as well as the sound quality. I switched it back and tried more entries. Again, Red would have created a great scene, but showered it with claps and highlighted any abuse. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. as well as the sound quality. I switched it back and tried more entries. Again, Red would make a great scene but showered her with claps and emphasized any abuse. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving of the old, warm and cuddly of the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. As an afterword I bought a Grado Black/2 and it's a much more mature achievement. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. More relaxed and forgiving on the old, warm and cuddly on the new, but still a huge upgrade from the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews, that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. More relaxed and forgiving on the old, warm and cuddly on the new, but still a huge upgrade from the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. Still a huge upgrade from the stock trolley and a perfect unmodified complement for the Fluance RT80. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving of the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. Still a huge upgrade from the stock trolley and a perfect unmodified complement for the Fluance RT80. The crashes and crashes were quite frustrating. So it just didn't work in my setup and the negative reviews that contradict the professional reviews on the internet are quite true. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. are quite correct. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. are quite correct. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. warm and snuggly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. are quite correct. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. warm and snuggly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80. are quite correct. YMMV indeed. I bought a Grado Black/2 as an epilogue and it's a much more mature performance. Quieter, more relaxed and forgiving over the old, warm and cuddly over the new, but still a huge upgrade over the standard wagon and a perfect, unchanged complement for the Fluance RT80.