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Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony Wood or Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge?

First post here, but I've been lurking and soaking up the knowledge. Thank you all for sharing your opinions.
I recently purchased a new turntable after a long absence. I bought a Marantz TT-15S1 which comes with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony Wood cartridge.


 A friend of mine would really like that cartridge from me and is willing to buy me the under $900 cartridge of my choice in trade for the Virtuoso. He recommended the Ortofon 2M Black, and in doing some research it seems like a great cart, but how would it compare to the Virtuoso?


 I should mention that my listening is mainly Rock (70's, 80's, 90's 00's) with some Jazz here and there. (Sometimes fairly aggressive hard rock / metal as well).
 While I know that the Virtuoso is an excellent cartridge I've heard it described as "soft" sounding. I've also heard the Black described as "aggressive" sounding which might better line up well with my source material(?) I've also heard that the black is harder to "dial in"


 I have not yet set up the Marantz so I'd like to pick a cart quickly and get that bad boy playing.
Anyone have experience with this table and both (or either) cart?
Or general takeaways on the differences between these 2 with any table?
Is any possible advantage of the black worth any added trouble in setup?
Thanks for your help!


shayatin
ochremoon
48 posts
 
The 2M Black is more clinical. It depends on the rest of the chain and your personal preferences. I prefer more body and warmth, so would stick with the Virtuoso, in my system, but YMMV.
fleib
1,124 posts
 

Shayatin, You might want to rethink this. If you have a $900 budget there might be a better choice. What kind of phono stage do you have?

Regards,

shayatin OP
4 posts
 

Shayatin, You might want to rethink this. If you have a $900 budget there might be a better choice.

I'm thinking that perhaps I should rephrase this to read more like he will purchase me a comparably priced cartridge. I'm the one who used the $900 number based on the approximate retail of the Virtuoso. I wouldn't ask my friend to spend more on a replacement cart for me than he could pick up his own virtuoso for. I just don't really know what that real world price is.

Having said that if you feel that there are other cartridges in the same price range as a Virtuoso that you think would be a better fit to my listening tastes I'd love to hear it! 

What kind of phono stage do you have?

Well this is kind of the rub right now. I'm just getting back in to analog so for the moment this will be going into the phono input of my elite AVR. A dedicated phono stage is the plan, but I cant really swing it all at once. 

Also ochremoon- Thanks for the input, I appreciate it!

johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
First off I admit I have no direct experience with the Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony or Ortofon 2M Black cartridges. However, based on many decades of audio experimentation, my instinct says to stick with the included Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony cartridge.

First of all, you're new to this, and the less you have to monkey around with something as a newbie, the better. Better to play what you have and get to know it, get comfortable handling it, etc. before swapping and aligning and all that.

Second, and I think this is worthwhile: Marantz is on the badge, but this is a Clearaudio package. They designed and made the turntable, and of all their cartridges, selected their Ebony Virtuoso. Under these circumstances, you can be pretty sure that this cart is an ideal match for that turntable and tonearm in terms of weight, compliance, and resonance control, and it probably comes with a better factory alignment than you could do yourself, esp. if these things are new to you.

I'd enjoy the heck out of that package, and when you've had it awhile and maybe you're due for a stylus retip or a new cartridge, look into your options.

See if you can find any info on the quality of your AVR's phono stage. Who knows, maybe it's pretty good. But chances are you'll get more sound for your dollar sticking with this Ebony Virtuoso and upgrading the phono stage.
shayatin OP
4 posts
 

@johnnyb53-

All of what you said above struck a chord with me and I think you are right. I should probably just enjoy the system the way it was designed (for a while), get more knowledgeable, and then be able to make better educated decisions a little further down the road.

Thank you all for your advice, much appreciated.

Steve.

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