Ortofon 2M Red MM Phono Cartridge

One of the Ten "Best Cartridges 2020" – What Hi-fi? Magazine

"Pleasing Ambience and Good Detail"

Ortofon's 2M Red moving magnet phono cartridge is an all-purpose cartridge that delivers open, dynamic sound with a slight touch of warmth. It features a new, improved engine that provides an increased output of 5.5mV, an optimized sound reproduction, and a high level of sonic accuracy.

England's What Hi-fi? magazine honored the Ortofon 2M Red by naming it as one of the ten "Best Cartridges 2020." According to the article, The 2M Red "puts in a great performance for the money. The midrange sounds full and expressive, especially vocals. Bass and treble also score well… It's simple to fit and align, and provides a more than enjoyable listening experience. Proof that quality hi-fi needn't cost the earth."

The 2M Red boasts a tipped Elliptical diamond and split pole pins with a copper wire. Split pole pins are an invention that enables moving magnet cartridges to have a flat frequency response, as with a much higher-priced moving coil cartridge. Split pole pins were invented by Ortofon, and were originally presented in the 500 series and Super OM series.

A review in England’s Hi-fi News magazine praised the 2M Red for its “pleasing ambience... intimate, trembling quality... bass in proportion... [and] good detail."

Ortofon's 2M Series

The 2M Series is designed for precise and accurate retrieval of the information in the record groove. The 2M Series is developed in conjunction with the Danish Industrial designer Møller Jensen Design – the same designer who designed the award winning MC Jubilee and Kontrapunkt series. Inspired by the facets of a diamond, whose contours gracefully trace the grooves on a record’s surface, the 2M’s handsome elegance establishes a great combination of form and functionality.

The name 2M was selected from among several ideas. Ortofon wanted a modern name that would be easy to pronounce and remember, and therefore an alphanumerical name was chosen. 2M means MM, which is the abbreviation for moving magnet.

Of course the 2M isn’t just another pretty face. It has been engineered to the highest standards and is congruent with Ortofon’s unrelenting commitment to providing the most precise and accurate reproduction possible without coloration.

Easy Mounting

Ortofon has optimized the design for ease of mounting the cartridge, and the weight and size to fit the most common turntables on the market today. The 2M Series provides excellent compatibility when used in an assortment of playback systems and with a wide variety of phono preamps.

• Moving magnet phono cartridge
• New, improved engine provides an increased output of 5.5mV
• A tipped Elliptical diamond and split pole pins with a copper wire
• Easy mounting
• Compatible with most tonearms

• Output voltage at 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec.: 5.5 mV
• Channel balance at 1 kHz: 1.5 dB
• Channel separation at 1 kHz: 22 dB
• Channel separation at 15 kHz - 15 dB
• Frequency range at - 3dB: 20-25,000 Hz
• Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz + 3 / - 1 dB
• Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force: 70 µm
• Compliance, dynamic, lateral: 20 µm/mN
• Stylus type: Elliptical
• Stylus tip radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Tracking force range: 1.6-2.0g (16-20 mN)
• Tracking force, recommended: 1.8 g (18 mN)
• Tracking angle: 20°
• Internal impedance, DC resistance: 1.3 kOhm
• Internal inductance: 700 mH
• Recommended load resistance - 47 kOhm
• Recommended load capacitance: 150-300 pF
• Cartridge color, body/stylus: Black/Red
• Cartridge weight: 722 g
• Replacement stylus unit: 2M Red (interchangeable with 2M Blue and 2M Silver)

2022, 2023 Recommended Components - Stereophile

One of the Ten "Best Cartridges 2020" – What Hi-fi? Magazine

The 2M Red "puts in a great performance for the money. The midrange sounds full and expressive, especially vocals. Bass and treble also score well… It's simple to fit and align, and provides a more than enjoyable listening experience. Proof that quality hi-fi needn't cost the earth."

- Joe Svetlik, What Hi-Fi?, June 17, 2020

2019 Editors' Choice Award – The Absolute Sound

"This is one sophisticated and musical cartridge..."

- The Absolute Sound, March 2019

"a pleasing ambience...
...intimate, trembling quality...
...bass in proportion...
...good detail...
...realistic without going into hardness...
...sense of space even in the climaxes..."

- Hi-fi News magazine, October 2008

Exploring the Ortofon 2M Series

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