Chakster, I am currently in mad passionate love with the Ortofon MC2000. However, it only works for me (with no SUT) because of the very low input sensitivity of the Beveridge direct-drive amplifiers. By this I mean that the amplifiers seem to require rather low signal voltage to drive them to full output. I run the MC2000 direct into my Manley Steelhead which can provide only 65db of gain. I use the Steelhead as a full-function preamplifier, so there is no downstream linestage that provides yet more gain. I calculated that 65db of voltage gain for an average 0.05mV signal would produce barely 0.4V output. Yet somehow the output of the Steelhead when driven by the MC2000 is sufficient to drive the Beveridge 2SW amplifiers to high SPLs, and the Steelhead is very quiet even wide open. However, you would dislike my sample of the MC2000, based on your often stated principles; I bought it from Nandric who had it re-tipped by Axel prior to sale. Axel tried to mimic the original cantilever and stylus shape as much as possible.
The MC2000 does not work well with my other audio system, for lack of adequate phono gain, in the absence of a SUT. Or rather, it gets unacceptably noisy just at the point where it develops adequate SPLs. In fact, I was going to sell the MC2000, until I tried it on the Bev system.
dhcod, I have no direct experience of the modern MM cartridges made by Ortofon, but is the Quintet on a higher plane, commercially, compared to the 2M Black? If so, you might try it. Another highly regarded Ortofon MM is the MM20FL Super, a vintage model of which I own two, both NOS.
