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Years ago as I was just getting back into vinyl after 30 years, I purchased the RT81 by Fluance which had received good initial reviews and was shipped with the AT95E. After about a year I changed the cartridge for the Nagaoka MP110. It was like Night and Day. The Nag really works well with the Fluance and I have tried it on my Technics SL1100 and my Audio Technica AT-140LP and it was quite good on both. This is a cartridge that punches well above its weight...in the price range I have not been able to find one that sounded better.

To improve fidelity even further than the MP11O, get the Audio Technica AT-VM95SH cartridge! At $199, It's an absolute bargain!

Comparison is paywalled??! 😡

I prefer the Nagaoka's warmer sound.

Bought the Nagaoka for use on my Fluance turntable and no matter how much I adjusted azimuth and tracking force and leveling of the turntable, it never stayed in the grooves for longer than 30 seconds before jumping wildly. I spent around $100 on gadgets to adjust every aspect of my turntable and just never got it right. I ended up going back to my Audio Technica green shell and I’ve never looked back since.

I can highly recommend the ATVM540ML. It is so much better than both the MP-100 or 2M Blue.

Appreciate your review. I have the RT85 with the blue cartridge. Perhaps since I am a bit over 50 I personally like the blue with a little more high end. It helps me hear more detail without any sharpness at all. But I can see and appreciate why others might prefer the different cartridge. Also I have speakers that tend to be a bit more on the warmer side so the blue cartridge suits them better. Thanks again my friend. It was a pleasure to watch your thoughts about the cartridges. Take care.

I would love to try the MP110 but I consider it too expensive for a bonded elliptical

Nice video. I bought a RT-85 when I decided to get back into vinyl. This was before they offered the 85N. After watching several reviews about the Nagaoka and it's warmer sound, I decided to buy the cartridge and another head shell. At first I liked the Nagaoka and the "warmer, richer" sound. But after a while, especially on some of my older albums, I felt it sounded a little "muddy". So I have gone back to the 2M Blue for now. I'm going keep track of my albums and which stylus sounds better with them. If the recording is "shrilly", I'll use the 110. If it is "muddy", I'll use the blue.

Great video!

A big plus for swap-able head-shells! It is possible to get shims to increase the relative height of certain cartridges, but going the other way doesn't seem to be possible. Auto-stop is a nice feature as well. Back in the days of the autochanger, there were pretty strictly adhered to standards about where the cut-off point was. I wonder if these are forgotten in the 'second age of vinyl'.

After doing alot of research I went with the 85 with the 2m blue. I love it. In the states it is the best bang for buck. Less shipping and less middle men then rega or project. The blue is amazing after it blooms, but I love my bronze as well. It shines on the 85

Love the 2m blue

I decided to buy the uTurn Theory turntable with the Ortofon Bronze. I belive it was about $1,200. USD. I really like this turntable and cartridge combination. My last turntable was made by a US company called SOTA or State of the Art and it was a much more expensive turntable and wortth every penny. It had 30 lbs of lead birdshot in the plinth to keep vibrations to a minimum. I had this turntable back in the late 1980s.-'90s. I can't remember the cartridge. SOTA sttill makes TT from about $1200 and up and the high end uses a unique vacuum system. Check SOTA out.

Have the RT84 w/ Hana EL... Life is GOOD ! Had to get a cork mat to compensate for difference in heights of cartridges (was 2MBlue)

Haha! 😂 When first looked at your ON AIR. Sign, I thought it said GWAR, a band whom I loved seeing live until the untimely passing of their front man Oderus Urungus aka Dave Brockie. Damn, do I miss that guy.

I own the RT85 with the ortofon blue cartridge. When I purchased it 2 years ago I bought another Fluance head-shell with the intent of maybe purchasing the MP-110 down the road. I would like to do so but after your video it sounds like it would not be set up properly. What's your take on this. Thanks!

Mark. Can I make a suggestion to you. Get a 2M Black. The difference between the 2M Blue is mindlblowing on my Logic dm101, SME3009 tonearm. I have been using the black for years (way to many hours over the 1000 suggested) but it needs replacing so thought I’d try the blue for like £130. Even my worn black stylus absolutely walks all over the blue brand new. Dig deep and do the upgrade you will be staggered!

Curious about your opinion on U-Turn turntables.