Not surprisd Jim.
Hi-fi news did a Cartridge Group Test (£500 High output pick-ups) in March 2011 ( I still have a copy)
Denon DL-160, Goldring 2500, Nagaoka MP-300 (the MP500 should have been chosen probably imo), The Ortofon 2M Black and the Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III
THe 2MB received Outsstanding Product.
Regardless of that it was the reveiwers findings that were so spot on and matched my own experince.
It was as if he'd been in my head and expressed from it. Either that or in my system room during sessions.
I related to everything he wrote. A great reveiw that covers everything we've expressed before, quote
"The schollchildren's vocal interlude later in this track almost literally jumped out from the three-dimensional soundstage produced by the 2M black,
while the regal piano chords sounded ful bodied and startlingly real".
quote
"Deep bass might not have been hugely extended, but it was textured, detailed and extraordinarily clear.
Moreover the parping brass and sublime guitar-picking sounding sensational, instruments described explicitly in their individual acoustic settings".
It was natural recordings of full orchestra that revealed absolutely that the 2MB is a stellar moving-magnet cartridge.
The Dallas SO's Symphonic Dance was reproduced in truly holographic fashion and the description of instrumental timbres - cello, oboes, strings - wonderfully lifelike:
like that delivered by the finest moving-coils.
The clarity and speed of the 2M Black led to a spectacular performance of Varese's 'dificult' Arcana with its dissonant percussive elements, the acoustic space of the Los Angeles concert hall reproduced in three dimensions"
Enough said ....