Phasemation PP-2000
The PP-2000 delivers tonal balance, subterranean bass and exceptional low-level nuance without sacrificing grace. Alan Sircom highlights its focused soundstage and beautifully portrayed instruments, while Anthony Kershaw celebrates its seamless, immersive command of dynamics, timbre and orchestral layering. This is a seriously crafted MC cartridge for emotionally convincing analogue playback.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
91/100
Features Usability
78/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Exceptionally refined, tonally even presentation with graceful musical flow and strong dynamics.
Full, focused soundstage with clearly portrayed instrumental voices and convincing orchestral layering.
Deep, powerful bass, rich midrange and controlled treble combine into a seamless frequency balance.
Tracks demanding records very well and reveals fine harmonic and textural detail.
Cons
Its 14.3g weight and low compliance demand a carefully matched moderate- to high-mass tonearm; setup on a Rega RB2000 proved problematic.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Reviewers portray the PP-2000 as an exceptionally refined, tonally even cartridge with unusually deep musical involvement. Its strengths extend from powerful bass and controlled treble to focused spatial presentation and highly revealing low-level nuance.
Overall Sound
96/100
Hi-fi+ calls its presentation beautiful, elegant and notably balanced, saying it neither exaggerates nor understates the music. Audiophilia similarly reports thunderous subterranean bass, refulgent midrange, pristine controlled treble, strong dynamics and an unusually immersive emotional connection.
Tracking Retrieval
93/100
Hi-fi+ says the PP-2000 tracks beautifully, defeated only by an unusually challenging old Decca pressing with exceptionally wide grooves. Audiophilia praises its ability to reveal fine harmonic, textural and orchestral nuances, while its line-contact stylus supports that level of retrieval.
Soundstage Imaging
95/100
Hi-fi+ describes a full, focused soundstage in which individual instrumental voices are perfectly portrayed. Audiophilia also highlights convincingly layered orchestration and the cartridge's ability to communicate performers' and composers' intentions.
FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 78/100
Tonearm compatibility / system fit. This is a substantial, low-output moving-coil cartridge that rewards careful arm, counterweight and phono-stage matching.
Tonearm Compatibility
78/100
Audiophilia found installation on a Rega RB2000 problematic: the 14.3g body left the counterweight hanging precariously and initially prevented tracking below 2.0g. Its low compliance, 0.3mV output and relatively high mass make it better suited to a carefully matched tonearm and capable MC phono stage than a plug-and-play setup.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
91/100
The PP-2000 is described as a visually striking, hand-crafted object, with hi-fi+ praising its restrained black-and-gold finish. Its boron cantilever, line-contact diamond and DLC-treated metal body suggest serious execution, though the reviews offer little evidence about long-term durability.
Value for Money
85/100
At roughly $4,595 to $6,595, the PP-2000 is firmly a luxury purchase. Hi-fi+ calls it one of the best-sounding cartridges available, but neither review directly compares its asking price with competing high-end cartridges, and Audiophilia notes that a $6,000 hand-crafted cartridge should deliver performance at this level.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Power Generation Method
- Moving Coil Type
- Impedance
- 4 Ohm
- Applicable Stylus Force
- 1.7 to 2.0g
- Output Voltage
- 0.3mV(horizontal direction of 1kHz 50mm/s)
- Compliance
- 8.0X10(e-6)cm/dyne
- Playing Frequency Range
- 10Hz to 30kHz
- Separation
- 30dB or more (1kHz)
- Channel Balance
- Within 1dB (1kHz)
- Range of Recommended Temperature
- 20℃ to 26℃
- Tare
- 14.3g
- Stylus Chip
- Diamond(line contact / curvature 0.03×0.003mm)
- Cantilever
- Pure Boron φ0.26
- Magnet
- Samarium Cobalt Magnet
- Magnetic Circuit Composition Material
- Permendur
- Base
- Stainless(Diamond Like Carbon processing)
- Body
- Duralumin(Diamond Like Carbon processing)
Manufacturer's Description — Phasemation
We, Phasemation, have been continuing to research the cartridges which are our brand starting point. By our daily research, we have succeeded in creating auditory lateralization, space reproduction ability, the midrange-treble-part with high freshness and the resonant bass part, which we can call as "ultimate" We gave it the name, PP-2000, to this cartridge and will release it as a new product.
Main feature
New design of a magnetic circuit
We decided to re-examine the magnetic circuits of PP-1000. Having permendur to remain as the magnetic material, the shape of the yoke is newly designed.
Due to this, an excellent shape to have furthermore high efficiency and uniformity of the magnetic field is achieved.
Increased output has been achieved without increasing the weight of the vibration system.
New design of vibration system
The vibration system has been newly designed in order to pursue the best balance of the sound quality. Reproducibility of a very small sound is furthermore improved because the damping material has been changed to the selected damping material and the damping characteristics have been newly designed; thereby, it can reproduce even the atmospheric feeling.
Inheriting the high quality materials for audio sound
High quality materials for audio sounds verified in PP-1000 and in other models listed in the followings are inherited: cantilever made of pure boron material which are well-acknowledged until now, magneto coil made of 6N oxygen-free copper wire, pure iron coil bobbin, wire damper, etc.
The DLC (Diamond Like Carbon)*1) which is well-acknowledged continues to be adopted for the body. The sound quality without fuzzy sounds has been achieved because the rigidity and vibration-damping characteristic are excellent.
*1DLC(Diamond Like Carbon) DLC（Diamond Like Carbon）is a generic name of carbon film to be produced with vapor phase synthesis utilizing ion processing; and the high rigidity and high electric insulation similar to a diamond are provided for it.
Needle exchange
Please contact the dealer when exchanging the needle.
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Phasemation PP-2000
- Resolution A/V — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- American Sound — in-store — Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Ammonite Audio — online and in-store — Norwich, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Ana Mighty Sound — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
- Ars Antiqua Audio — online and in-store — Boadilla del Monte, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (website)
- Audio Creativ — in-store — Riedenburg, Bayern, Germany (website)
- Audio Solutions - AU — online and in-store — Mascot, New South Wales, Australia (website)
- Don Better Audio — online and in-store — Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States (website)
- Exception Audio — in-store — Antibes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (website)
- Hifi Gear - HK — in-store — Kowloon, Hong Kong (website)
and 23 more verified dealers