Ortofon Spu Meister Silver G Mkii to install or not

[pidge22]

I have sat here a new Ortofon Spu Meister Silver G Mkii,I normally buy all my hifi kit used but as decent Ortofon Spu's used rarely come up for sale I decided to buy new and am always wary of buying used cartridges
My dilemnia is that once I have opened I cannot return under the distance selling rules ...
I know my tonearm is right (SME M2-12R) in terms of compliance matching.
So am deciding do I go for it or not...I have read very positive reviews & feedback about the Spu but one or two negatives ie its too bright & thin sounding.Also will my Tron Seven Ultimate have enough gain though (68db ) I think so but can't be 100% sure till I try it ...
Finally I am not totally confident with fitting a cartridge though fitting a SPU seems straight forward and don't want to lug about a 35kg Slate Plnth to take it somewhere to have the spu fitted

My Cartridgeman Music Master/isolator does sound very good since I found the right voltage (220v) on my Loricraft PSU 80 despite a complete arm/compliance mismatch...but I have a SPU itch to scratch

So I have to decide to fit or not!

[WESTLOWER]

Of course you fit it, you could drop dead tomorrow. Enjoy the thing. Very easy to fit too… although SPUs never line up the null points bang on so I wouldn’t over worry about it. There’s enough gain for it in the Tron. All that tosh about others online reviews etc. is simply tosh, there are too many variables in everyone’s systems for ‘reviewers’ to give absolutes.
Fit and enjoy the thing.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Hi Paul, I own the very same cartridge, it's very very good. I'd just install and enjoy.

[cuddles]

Yup - fit and forget. Using an SPU was the best decision I ever made with regards to vinyl playback. No more fretting about tracking alignment. Simply enjoy your records :)

[pidge22]

Thanks for all the encouragement here ....I am defintely going to give it a try & am sure given the comments will be impressed...will report back accordingly..

[WESTLOWER]

Actually having had both models, I’d be inclined to sell it without opening and nab the next to new SPU century which the very reliable PetRat is selling on here !
Amazing bargain that and it’s the top of the SPU tree. No better out there

[WESTLOWER]

https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?75428-Ortofon-SPU-Century-for-sale

[pidge22]

yes I have seen Petrat's Century spu... unfortunately the difference would be above my budget...

[pidge22]

Just an update on this I finally fitted the Spu Meister Silver today,fitting was fairly straightforward thankfully I had the add on counterweight & despite what i had read the null points were spot on from the previous Music Master fitted...had to adjust the M2-12R height slightly & increase the tracking force to 4 grams.
Switched the Tron Seven Ultimate to MC and no problem with gain at all...I assume there is some burn in needed on the SPU but my initial impressions are that it is very good particularly on female vocals, strings & detail...for what it cost I am most impressed (its not far off Linn Cartridges on my previous Lp12 costing 3 times as much).....thanks for all the advice with this....

[Wakefield Turntables]

Just an update on this I finally fitted the Spu Meister Silver today,fitting was fairly straightforward thankfully I had the add on counterweight & despite what i had read the null points were spot on from the previous Music Master fitted...had to adjust the M2-12R height slightly & increase the tracking force to 4 grams.
Switched the Tron Seven Ultimate to MC and no problem with gain at all...I assume there is some burn in needed on the SPU but my initial impressions are that it is very good particularly on female vocals, strings & detail...for what it cost I am most impressed (its not far off Linn Cartridges on my previous Lp12 costing 3 times as much).....thanks for all the advice with this....

Paul, I run one of these on my 301 setup. You will probably need 25-50 hours before you start to hear some changes and then they are usually good for 1500 - 2000 hours if you look after them. Channel balancing is an absolue must with this cart, I set mine up with a Fozgometer. You'll probably find that Jazz is this carts party piece.

[pidge22]

Paul, I run one of these on my 301 setup. You will probably need 25-50 hours before you start to hear some changes and then they are usually good for 1500 - 2000 hours if you look after them. Channel balancing is an absolue must with this cart, I set mine up with a Fozgometer. You'll probably find that Jazz is this carts party piece.

I listen to a lot of jazz so will be perfect for my taste in music...I heard a Ben Webster & Associates track on you tube with a Silver Meister and it sounded superb..will have to look at a Fozgometer for fine tuning...

[WESTLOWER]

You don’t need a Fozgometer.

[Wakefield Turntables]

You don’t need a Fozgometer.

Agreed but it's my favourite way of doing things.

[Wegamus]

I listen to a lot of jazz so will be perfect for my taste in music...I heard a Ben Webster & Associates track on you tube with a Silver Meister and it sounded superb..will have to look at a Fozgometer for fine tuning...

Nottingham SPU/M2-R user here too! I use an SPU Wood A, which has the shorter A-style body. Plugs into the M2-9R via the Ortofon APJ-1 adaptor.

I’m playing mostly jazz here and the Wood A - along with my earlier SPU #1S - has been a revelation. I find I just don’t want to listen to digital anymore, in fact I just sold my CD/DAC.

Would love to try the TRON phono stages one day.