Man, I'd suggest you either upgrade your phono stage or move sideways to a cart with a different flavor. Spending more on a cart at this stage I suspect would be a waste of money.
I'm running a 2M black myself. I had previously thought of it as bright and uninvolving, including mounted on the VPI Classic I used to own. On my new set-up, it sounds compelling. (I asked Jeff Catalano of High Water Sound for a budget cart to hold me over after buying the TW Acustic table and arm and selling my VPI/Soundsmith rig; I protested about the Ortofon, but he was absolutely right.)
That said, the 2M black is a very "truthful" cart, with no romance of its own. That's why I'd say upgrade the phono stage (and eventually the amp) to something with more soul, or swap out the 2M for something in the same price range but with a different flavor. The ATs you list are great, but not very far away from the Ortofon house sound -- of what your dealer offers, the Grados and Nagoakas would give you something very different IMO. (I can't advise on compatibility with your tonearm, that said.)
One final thought: especially when it comes to cartridges, I'd be suspicious of any categorical statements in these forums along the lines of "the SonicBombast 2000 will leave that Lothario Audio Don Juan XXX in the dust." There are simply too many variables at play.
I'm running a 2M black myself. I had previously thought of it as bright and uninvolving, including mounted on the VPI Classic I used to own. On my new set-up, it sounds compelling. (I asked Jeff Catalano of High Water Sound for a budget cart to hold me over after buying the TW Acustic table and arm and selling my VPI/Soundsmith rig; I protested about the Ortofon, but he was absolutely right.)
That said, the 2M black is a very "truthful" cart, with no romance of its own. That's why I'd say upgrade the phono stage (and eventually the amp) to something with more soul, or swap out the 2M for something in the same price range but with a different flavor. The ATs you list are great, but not very far away from the Ortofon house sound -- of what your dealer offers, the Grados and Nagoakas would give you something very different IMO. (I can't advise on compatibility with your tonearm, that said.)
One final thought: especially when it comes to cartridges, I'd be suspicious of any categorical statements in these forums along the lines of "the SonicBombast 2000 will leave that Lothario Audio Don Juan XXX in the dust." There are simply too many variables at play.