Ortofon 2MR Red Moving magnet cartridge

VTA - WHY DOES IT MATTER?

The Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA) is the angle between the pivot point of a cartridge's cantilever and where the diamond touches the record groove. Ortofon cartridges are constructed so that the cantilever angle corresponds to the 20º record cutting angle when the cartridge is loaded with recommended tracking force and the cartridge base is parallel with the tonearm, which in turn is parallel to the record surface. As a result of this design, if your cartridge is ever mounted on a tonearm where it must lean even slightly backwards compared to the record surface, the VTA will not be correct and you will lose important musical details.

The existing 2M range is well suited to many tonearms in the modern market and is perfectly at home on tonearms with adjustable VTA. However, there are many tonearms from popular turntable makers, such as Linn, Rega, Pro-Ject and others, where the VTA is not adjustable and the regular 2M cartridge height is too high. Similarly, there are instances where you may wish to modify your turntable with a thicker mat or platter upgrade and you need to compensate with reduced cartridge height.

Enter 2MR.

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 to 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 exactly 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) in order 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.