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Overhang for Ortofon 2M Bronze on Rega RB301

I just purchased an Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge and am a bit puzzled about the overhang setting. The people I purchased the cartridge from said they set the cartridge so the front of the cartridge is flush with the front of the headshell. When I checked this with the Rega cartridge alignment protractor it shows the cartridge should be roughly 2 millimeters further back in the headshell. I listened both ways and thought the setting where the front of the cartridge was flush with the front of the headshell sounded the best. The other thing I was wondering about was the tracking force; Ortofon advised from 1.4 to 1.7 grams. I initially tried it at 1.5 grams and then 1.7 grams (as recommended by the people I bought the cartridge from). Surprisingly I like it at 1.4 grams. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
bobgates

Showing 18 responses by bobgates

bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Musicfile - it is sounding superb. Down the road I may eventually go with the 2M Black stylus.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Thanks Ekobesty for your advice.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
I readjusted the overhang and now have the headshell lined up perfectly with the Rega alignment protractor; the front of the cartridge now sits around 2 millimeters back from the front of the headshell. Also set the tracking force to 1.5 grams. Listened late last night for quite awhile and have to say it now sounds by far the best I have heard it. I know there are certainly better cartridges if you have the money but I sure love the sound of this Ortofon 2M Bronze; hard to believe it is a MM.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Thank you Johnbrown; I will definately check that out.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Ekobesky - just wanted to let you know that I did bump the tracking force up to 1.6 grams and then 1.7grams; it does sound even better now. Now I'm wondering where I can find a blank album so I can accurately set the antiskate?
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Thank you iSanchez - I will definately look into the Mint tractor.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Thanks Tvad; I'll definately try that; makes a lot of sense.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Musicfile - the cartridge is sounding great. I am still experimenting with the tracking force though and it seems to sound the best between 1.55 grams and 1.65 grams. I downloaded some of the cartridge alignment protractors on vinylengine.com and feel the overhang is either right on or at least very, very close to being where it should be.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Musicfile - the VTA appears to be alright; I had heard that the Ortofon 2M was designed with the Rega arm in mind. I did play a few albums with the felt mat removed; kind of liked that; a little more lively.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
I've been doing searchs on thoughts about the optimum overhang for the Rega tonearm. One that I kept running across said the overhang for the Rega tonearm should be 15mm. So rather than spend $110 for a Mint Best Protractor I thought I would simply place the cartridge directly over the spindle and measure the distance from the center of the spindle to the stylus tip with a metric ruler and adjust the distance to 15mm. Well after doing this I listened and have to say this is the best sounding setting I have heard so far; it really sounds exceptional now.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Johnbrown - apparently there are people on vinylengine.com who think otherwise; that's where I got my information. The blank side of the album I use does work for anti-skate; once you get it right the cartridge stays right in the middle and won't be pulled inward or outward.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Inpepinnovations - I can't agree with that; I much perfer the grooveless record approach and find it gives me the best results. Of course there's more than one way to skin a cat.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
I removed the Ortofon 2m Bronze from the Ortofon headshell this afternoon and mounted it on an inexpensive Gemini headshell. Wouldn't you know it sounded better with the Gemini headshell; a more natural and relaxed presentation. Just goes to show that just because something is more expensive doesn't necessarily mean that it's better.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Thank you Ekobesky and Onetwothreego for your thoughts on antiskate. I guess another way to set antiskate is to pick a record where you know a singer or instument is right in the center of the soundstage. If the antiskate is too weak the singer or instrument will be more on the left channel and if it is too strong the singer or instrument will be more on the right channel. I've also noticed with too little antiskate there seems to be a lack of air or ambience on better recordings. Thank you again for sharing you ideas on this topic.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Ekobesky - that is really interesting and makes a lot of sense. I had set the tracking force at 1.55 grams and, using the blank record, had set the antiskate at around 1.1, so if you take that times 1.4 you have 1.54 which would imply that the antiskate be set the same as the tracking force. Thank you for passing that on.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Ekobesky - I use that dot on the top of the 2M Bronze as point of reference also. I have the dot just back from the center hole on top of the headshell so only half the dot shows.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Ekobesky - I'm using the Rega cartridge alignment protractor that came with the P3-24 but I have also downloaded the Rega Stevenson ARC protractor off vinylengine.com and seem to get the same results.
bobgates OP
535 posts
 
Ekobesky - well I sold the Rega P3-24 and now have the Ortofon 2M Bronze mounted on a Ortofon SH-4 headshell which is plugged into the arm on a new Technics SL-1200 Mk 2. I love the way this setup sounds; definately an improvement over anything I was able to get out of the Rega. As far as overhang goes I have the cartridge all the way out on the headshell and the tracking force set at 1.4 grams. The VTA is set at 0 but I increased it to .5mm today.
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