Ortofon 2MR Black Flagship Moving magnet cartridge

Ortofon 2MR Black reduced height moving magnet cartridge

The 2MR Black is the flagship of the classic moving magnet cartridges from Ortofon. The 2MR black is graced with a Shibata diamond stylus - the same diamond as on the acclaimed MC Jubilee. Its slim, highly polished profile allows an exceedingly wide contact area to the groove walls and ensures notably detailed reproduction throughout the spectrum, including even the most high-frequency groove information.

Key Features

• Designed to be as true to the groove as possible
• Nude Shibata diamond stylus
• Overhead mounting cartridge for installing into a headshell
• Moving magnet cartridge with removable stylus
• Utilises Ortofon's split-pole pin technology to reduce the eddy current and to get a flat frequency response, like with an MC cartridge can be upgraded with other styli from the Ortofon 2M range
• Anti-resonant Hopelex body and improved internal engine with silver-plated copper wire
• Reduced-height 2MR cartridge body
• Detailed sound reproduction throughout the spectrum, including even the most high-frequency groove information
• Reduced distortion and record wear
• Improved dynamics and resolution, sounds more open and reproduces greater details
• Supplied with 2 different sets of screws (M2.5 x 5 & M2.5 x 7)
• Carbon fibre stylus brush and tracking force gauge included
  
  

A Moving Magnet phono cartridge is comprised of a tiny magnet, located at the end of the cantilever of the stylus that sits between two coils. One coil caters to the left aspect of the music, while the other is for the right - this allows for the stereo sound. This magnet vibrates between the two coils and induces a small electrical current within them in the process. Because the magnet is so small, it needs less tracking/downward force to correctly manoeuvre between the grooves of a vinyl record. A Moving Iron cartridge makes use of essentially the same construction but swaps the magnet for a tiny piece of iron or other lightweight and ferrous alloy. The iron is lighter and so reduces the necessary tracking force even further. 

Moving Magnet is the most common type of phono cartridge, so many integrated amplifiers now feature a Moving Magnet phono stage and many manufacturers, such as Ortofon design and construct a wide range of MM cartridges with varying levels of quality. While every MM cartridge makes use of this fundamental construction, the way that this is implemented within a cartridge varies as do the materials used, allowing for differing qualities and a unique sound signature depending on the brand and model.

Representing the flagship moving magnet cartridge with the best quality Shibata stylus with a highly polished profile to give state-of-the-art tracking and information retrieval combined with very low record wear thanks to the stylus's wide contact area.

All of the technology built into the 2M Black is geared towards offering the listener an even more realistic and lifelike sound quality - the rigid body of the cartridge is made from non-resonant Lexan DMX Piano black compound which gives very low colouration of the audio signal. High frequencies, in particular, are extended and silky smooth and tracked very securely with very low distortion. The fine silver-plated copper wire windings and split pole pin generator system give a very clear and detailed reproduction of your vinyl

THE 2MR SOLUTION

2MR reduces the overall cartridge body height to 14mm, saving you 3mm over the standard version. This reduction makes a world of difference in the achievable sound quality of your turntable, where VTA is an issue with a standard 2M cartridge. It's also infinitely easier to accommodate than many tonearm modifications or upgrades you may otherwise need to make.

As this different-sized cartridge option is helpful in many use cases, each model of the 2M range is available as a 2MR variant, including the 2M Black LVB250, the 2M Mono and the 2M 78. For convenience, the 2MR styli are the same as the regular 2M range styli and can be swapped and upgraded as effortlessly as the regular range.

WHAT ABOUT THE WEIGHT?

Another benefit to 2MR cartridges is found in their reduced weight (6.0g) compared to standard 2M cartridges (7.2g) to achieve the correct resonant frequency with your tonearm.

When selecting a cartridge for your turntable, the total effective mass of the tonearm (i.e. the effective mass of the tonearm, plus the cartridge weight, plus any mounting hardware) has to be considered against the mechanical compliance (elasticity) of the cartridge cantilever system. The included graph shows when different compliances are within or outside the ideal resonance frequency range of 7-12Hz, depending on the total mass of the pick-up system.

This correct mechanical match between the cartridge and tonearm is one of the most important factors when aiming for a neutral sound. A mismatch can result in bad impulse behaviour, which negatively impacts the sound. The ability to choose a different 2M cartridge, to save 1.2g, which may make you get within the ideal resonant frequency range is an added benefit of the 2MR variant.

Who is Ortofon?

Ortofon is a Danish manufacturer of high-quality phono cartridges, designed to get the very most out of your vinyl collection from a variety of price points. Ortofon cartridges, both Moving Magnet and Moving Coil configurations are commonly found supplied with high-quality ProJect turntable models, but Ortofon cartridges sound exceptional with any compatible turntable.