Hello,
Yamaha phono stage will probably be better. Also, I like the idea of the Schiit Mani just to try it out. I own it for a cheap rig in my office and it works great. I would go with the Nagaoka MP110 instead of the Ortifon Red 2m. The Nag is a little more forgiving in my opinion. That what you need is forgiveness in sound. Also, with the Ortifon you might need to adjust the VTA if you can or get a different mat. With the Nag it is very similar in size to the cheaper cartridges so no need to readjust the VTA. Basically what might happen is you might get more bass than you want with the Ortifon. If you can adjust the VTA I would go with the 2M blue. For an extra $150 it makes a big difference. People do this upgrade all the time because of the sonic impact. I hope this helped and best of all I have experienced this myself.
Yamaha phono stage will probably be better. Also, I like the idea of the Schiit Mani just to try it out. I own it for a cheap rig in my office and it works great. I would go with the Nagaoka MP110 instead of the Ortifon Red 2m. The Nag is a little more forgiving in my opinion. That what you need is forgiveness in sound. Also, with the Ortifon you might need to adjust the VTA if you can or get a different mat. With the Nag it is very similar in size to the cheaper cartridges so no need to readjust the VTA. Basically what might happen is you might get more bass than you want with the Ortifon. If you can adjust the VTA I would go with the 2M blue. For an extra $150 it makes a big difference. People do this upgrade all the time because of the sonic impact. I hope this helped and best of all I have experienced this myself.