Ortofon 2M Red Moving Magnet Phono Cartridge

I've owned a lot of cartridges since the 1980s. from Audio-Technica, to Grado, various Shure models, the original Ortofon om series with stylus profiles all the way up to shibata and anything in between. In a recent quest to find a suitable cartridge for my thorens TD 170 turntable, I was searching for a replacement for the original supplied om10 cartridge by Ortofon. Well, it arrived today and I must say installation was an absolute Breeze. This new 2M Ortofon cartridge series doesn't require you to have nuts for the bolts... Just screw it down through the headshell, adjust your alignment, balance the tonearm and set the tracking force and you're off and running. The very first thing that I noticed was the increased voltage this cart has over the original OM. At 5.5 volts it has some serious volume vs many other magnetic cartridges. And that's a good thing if you don't have a very strident amplifier. The second thing I noticed right away upon dropping the needle into the record Groove for the very first time was the lowered noise floor I had with the cartridge versus a lot of others I've tried in the past. The stylus is a .3 by .7 mil elliptical that is highly polished as Ortofon does to all of their styli...and that's very important because the higher the Polish.. the smoother the tip.. the quieter the ride so to speak. And that makes it very forgiving to older records with Groove wear and groove grunge.. if you have records in your collection that are less than perfect. Imaging is excellent at this price point and it is very neutral sounding from bass through treble with a particularly strong mid-range. I suppose it's a matter of taste but since the mid-range is usually the part of music that tells the story this can be a good thing because you're not missing the heart of the action this way.. in my opinion. having spent many hundreds of dollars on other cartridges and stylus profiles in the past, I must say that although this is not the most detailed cartridge I've ever heard it is among one of the most forgiving I have ever used. No matter what I threw at it this evening it seemed to do it with ease in a very forgiving yet enjoyable fashion. It has a particular way of making all records enjoyable from brand new to fairly heavily worn allowing the user to just plainly enjoy his record collection without a lot of fuss and muss. And after all I think that's what a lot of people are really looking for. Oh sure there are a lot of critics that might like a different sound but if what you're looking for is something to Simply do a nice job on playing your valuable collection then this would be the cartridge for you. It's an honest straightforward cartridge that's very suited for Mid Mass tone arms such my Thorens many Duals and the Project or Rega tables out there on today's market. and as a upper mid compliance cartridge, it's also suitable for many automatics without worrying about the strain on the stylus cantilever...a HUGE plus. Ortofon got it right with this one and I'm very happy with my purchase!

I guess it was about a decade and a 1/2 ago when I wrote a professional review on the OM5E phono cartridperiod. At that time I raved about the cartridge and stated that it and the M97XEwould be responsible for bringing vinyl back. One of my readers responded to the review by stating well. What about the 2M red??I simply shrugged it off and thought to myself. That it could not be possibly that much better. Now. I am prepared to eat those words sir.The 2M ready arrived in a very presentation presentation that was well Boxed. The kid included 2 pairs of different length screws and I Opted for the shorpercent as per the menufacturer. Mounting the cartridge to the head show was a breeze As there were no tiny nuts to fiddle with and possibly los. Is using The techniques overhang gauge and then my 2 point pro tractor I was able to perfect alignment and asthma of the component.I then proceeded to give it 25 hours a break in you can. Using various various recordings in my repertoire from classical to jazz. To rock. I was immediately stunned by the overall wide range clarity richinese and dynamics of what I was listening along with a sound sthat was no less stunning. And in fact was exexclamation point.I thought to myself I'd have to really spend upward of the $200 clear audno concept. MMI had on hand and was willing to trade up. For the newest model add an exchange the old one but but that is going to have to wait another 10 years or so lol OL. This 2M red as a frequency response launch and stereo separation that seems way better than the specs would indicate. ..I must also mention here Vanguard prefer higher output cartridges 2. They're lower output brother and the rated output. Of 5.5 millivolt on the 2M red seems. Rather conservative to me and I would suggest that it is upward of seven point to millibolt periodRegardless it is easily the quietest phono cartridge. I've ever experience and hungry and hum rejection is ei the best. I've ever experienced and that includes some very esoteric cartridges of the past. For examthe Pickering XSV 3000 the Stanton L847S.. And even. This company's own OM40 gold with it. It's soteric Britt's ganger stylus cannot equal or surpass the bonded elliptical of the 2M red.After the 25 hour mark and before the 50 hour mark I notice the stylus opened up and the rated compliance of 18 to 20. Gave me impression that it was right at the twentremark as I could hear deeper base and higher heigyes as if out of nowhere suddenly late. On whatever I was listening to. The 2M red was now ready forbirds test. And put it to the test. I did with the professor Johnson's astounding sounding sound show test record that I am which exposes a cartridge words faultiness. And excellence and it just can't run and hide from these two!Everything from percussion the opening dynamics the child on the soft jazz the African precaution. It was all there to perfection save. One little part in the beginning which had suffered damabout 40 years ago with another photo cartridge that I owned at that time period.Channel balance proved tothen and I've never heard better channel balance in my life. !! Inconclusion. I would say definitely go for it at its current Bryce. And it is my hope that the manufacturer does not raise a price at all one. Iota and should indeed lower the Price of the replacement stylit is please placed too close to the total price of the cartridperiod. Another nice thing is you can easily upgrade. To the 2M blue stylist but why bother is my feeling and why paying the $150 more or whatever it is at the time of purchase?It seems to me that we were always thinking about upgrading when I wonder if in fact we should just be happy with what we hand be satisfied. And just enjoy the music! My RCA Redfield recording of witches brew. Prove to be extremely dynamic and I'm the cabbage man's crack of the whip on overture to Tim ocean. Turn which starts the classic recording was so dynamic that it made me jump out of my seat. !he bases worth thunderously and honestly low and that brings me to another point. This is an ultimately honest cartridge that is a true calibration cartridge. Surpassing all calibration or so called cartridges of the pastSo don't hesitate my friend? Pull the trigger and get this one and the BEL red satin hedgehog also if you're in a position of mounting this. Wonderful combo I'm bored on your technique style turn table which I own. Mine is the SL 2500 professional direct drive model go to combination removable head shells and the bee well. Red satin head shell and 2M red just mate so wonderfully together but I cannot say enough about them..It should also be noted that I use the roles of VP29 read photo pre app during this review and I will continue to use this as it. Is now my main reference system. Everything as everything else seems to pale by comparison.. Show my friend in conclusion I would say to go back to any other phone or CA cridge would. Be unthinkable after hearing. The two m red as as this manufacturer has pulled out all the stops and kudos to the engineer!The B The Beach Boys 15 big ones never sounded better and if there are any short comings up the 2M red it would be this period period. .. That that it is slightly more brilliant the marriage in the highest and perhaps may sound overpowering with speakers that. Exhibit exaggerated tdouble so beware of that or you could just simply back on the tone control a little bit or maybe even just run it flat.You do have to spend a lot more for a tiny bit of improvement over the 2 Emerald and forget the competition that hobbers. In the $100 to $200 price range forget it!They are not worth seeking out compared to the 2M red. Happy listening and God-bless!!!!! PJS too.

I had never changed a turntable cartridge before, but my old stylus was so worn out that the signal degradation was audible. I figured if I was gonna do it I should do it right. Multiple articles online recommended the Ortophon Red. It was pricy but I decided to take a chance.With my inexperience, installation was not easy. I broke a tonearm wire and had to replace it. I had trouble screwing the new cartridge into the headshell. The instructions were not clear in some ways and completely wrong in others. I wired it up according to the instructions, and I had no sound. I had to go online to find out how it should properly be wired, and then it worked. Once it was properly installed I had to go through the trouble of adjusting my counter-weight and anti-skid and all that good stuff. Took me hours to get it right. Like I said, I'm not very experienced with the tech side of my music hobby. But eventually I got it all working.And it was SO WORTH IT. All of the hours of work I put in were forgotten when I listened to the first song on my upgraded setup. (For the record - no pun intended - it was the Dance With the Dead album Driven to Madness. Lots of heavy guitars and bright synths.) I could not believe my ears. The sound was incredible. The treble was brighter. The bass was boomier. The midrange was deeper. Everything was clearer and more detailed. And that remains the case whether I'm listening to metal, synthwave, classical, jazz, or whatever. I am really blown away by the overall brightness and depth of sound. Another thing that impresses me is that it is so much easier to hear the bass guitar now. I cannot recommend highly enough that you upgrade to an Ortophon cartridge if you have the kind of tonearm that it will fit on.