I bought this on the advice of someone reviewing the Ortofon 2M Blue. I'm glad I did. After using it for about a month, I can report that It is extremely well-balanced tonally, and nicely detailed through the mid and high frequencies. I was replacing a Rega Elys on a Rega Planar 3 'table. The Elys was sounding kind of dull (possibly due to its age). The Nagaoka has brought the P3 back to life. A few things to know, though, if you're considering this cartridge for a Rega 'table:
1. The Nagaoka is 17.5 mm tall. Rega Bias/Elys cartridges are 13.5 mm tall. This means that with the Nagaoka mounted on a Rega RB300 arm, the arm will tilt down slightly towards the pivot (which I understand is okay, and possibly optimal from a sonic standpoint). If you want to level the arm, you will have to add a spacer under the arm. Or you can do what I did (to partially compensate for the different heights): replace your Rega felt mat with a Pro-Ject Cork It mat (which is quite thin at 1.5 mm). The Pro-Ject mat works very well with a glass platter, and provides (I think) even greater detail.
2. Proper alignment on the Rega arm means that the Nagaoka will be quite far forward in the "headshell". I have it about 3.5 mm out from the end of the headshell (look online for the image of this cartridge mounted on an RB250 arm, which someone has helpfully posted). It will look a bit like you've bolted a brick to the end of your tonearm (given the Nagaoka's boxy appearance). If you want something that looks good (or "right") on a Rega arm, you should probably look for a different cartridge. As for me, I'm very happy with the sound, and can live with the aesthetics.
| Product Dimensions | 5.51 x 4.5 x 7.01 cm; 68.04 g |
|---|---|
| Item model number | MP-110 |
| Region of Origin | eastern-asia |
| Country produced in | japan |
| Color Screen | No |
| Item Weight | 68 g |
