Blue Point No. 2 on a RB250

I put a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 on my NAD 533 (with RB250 arm) and was not impressed with the sound. It was OK. Not great. I put an Audio Technica technicraft cartridge on the same table and the sound was much beter then the Sumiko. Put the Sumiko on a Thorens TD 125 MKII with the TP-16 arm and it sounded great. My experience FWIW.

From what I've read, Roy Gandy, CEO of Rega and prime mover behind the Rega RB tonearm series, is not fond of Sumiko high output moving coil carts. Gandy is a bit eccentric in some of his views and would have a strong opinion about his own cartridges designed for his tonearms (e.g., Elys, Exact).

The Rega 3-pt. mount MM carts screw right onto the RB tonearms and need no fidgety alignment process. I've heard the Exact on a P5 (or P7, forget which) and it was quite synergistic.

Another cart that reminds me of the Exact but can be had for less and of course requires standard mounting and alignment is the Audio Technica AT150MLX. You can currently get it for $325 from LPGear.

The BP2 sounds good (sometimes very good) on lightweight arms. For the medium mass RB250 I don't think it's a good match, it sounds noticeably less open.

Thanks for your responses. One thing (of many) that confuses me is that, according to the formular at this site:

http://www.theanalogdept.com/cartridge___arm_matching.htm

when I plug and chug the numbers, the BP2 should be a better match on the rega than the Ortofon om 20 I'm using.

But my main motivation is improvement of the somewhat forward and dry sound I get with my current setup. I guess the BP2 would be the wrong direction.

I had a Blue Point No. 2 on an RB-250 mounted on a SOTA Comet and I hated it. The sound was etched and screachy, easily the worst sound I have had with any turntable. I changed out to an Ortofon 540 MkII and it was much better, smoother and warmer sounding. I also enjoyed a Stanton 681 EEE. I dont't think either of these are in production any more. I ultimately switched to a Benz Micro Ace Lo and have not looked back.
Cheers,
Jim

The Stanton 681EEE MkIII is discontinued, but is evidently still available at LPGear.com. LPGear also has the NOS Stanton replacement stylus plus a range of house-branded replacement styli including one with Shibata tip. KABUSA.com also offers a Jico replacement stylus for a mere $39.95.

Gee, I've got a Stanton 881s on my old Thorens 115 that I use for the first play of used records. Maybe I should try it on the RB250.

I'm not really setup for a low output cart. at this point in time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

There are a several excellent high output cartridges in the $300 range that should work well on the RB250, including the aforementioned AT150MLX, Stanton 681EEE, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Grado Reference Platinum, or Goldring 1012GX or 1022GX (if you get them from kabusa.com). I have a somewhat highly regarded HOMC (Denon DL-160), and I'll take the AT150MLX over it any day.

The blue pont no. 2 is an excellent cartridge for that price. It has a very clear sound, surface noise is not in the way, and its pretty fast too. I'm not familiar with rega but don't go crazy with anti skating. This cart doesn't really need much, too much will kill its dynamics. I found the sumiko to be more hi fi sounding than those grados. Try dynavector high mc's too, they might be more open sounding but at a higher price.