Ortofon - 2M 78 Cartridge Mounted on SH-4 Headshell

The 2M 78 already bolted to an SH-4 headshell — a 65 µm shellac tip on a quick-change headshell, which is the only sensible way to run one.

The SH-4 is Ortofon’s workhorse universal headshell, made from anodised aluminium with gold-plated terminal pins and a long finger lift. It weighs 9.2g bare, and Ortofon publishes the combined cartridge-and-headshell weight for every premounted 2M at 16.7g — which is the number to check against your arm’s counterweight range before ordering.

If you play 78s at all, this is the configuration you want. A 65 µm tip is useless on a microgroove LP and a microgroove tip is worse than useless on shellac, so a 78 cartridge has to be swapped in and out — and on an S-shaped arm with a detachable headshell that takes seconds rather than an evening.

The tip is a spherical diamond of R 65 µm, roughly three and a half times the radius of the 2M Mono’s R 18 µm, sized to ride the wide coarse groove of a shellac disc rather than drop to the worn bottom of it. Like the 2M Mono it is a true mono design using a strapped output, so it runs on any ordinary stereo phono stage without a mono switch.

One caveat we will make ourselves, because Ortofon does not: 78s were cut to a range of pre-RIAA equalisation curves, and a standard RIAA phono stage will replay them with a noticeably wrong tonal balance. This cartridge gets the mechanical side right. The equalisation is a separate problem and worth a conversation if you are building a shellac setup.

One thing worth being straight about, because a lot of retail copy is not: Ortofon markets premounted cartridges purely on convenience. It never claims the cartridge arrives aligned, never quotes a factory overhang figure, and never names an alignment geometry. What you are buying is the fiddly part already done — the cartridge bolted to the headshell with the leadwires connected, which is the step that costs most people their patience and occasionally a cantilever. You still set overhang, tracking force and anti-skate yourself.

Features

• Ortofon 2M 78 premounted on an SH-4 headshell, leadwires connected
• Bayonet / SME fitting — swap in for shellac and back out again in seconds
• Combined weight 16.7g
• Spherical diamond, R 65 µm, sized for the coarse groove of shellac 78s
• True mono design with a strapped output; works on any ordinary stereo phono stage
• Shares its body and stylus fitting with the 2M Mono

Specifications

• Type: True mono moving magnet cartridge for 78rpm shellac, premounted on an Ortofon SH-4 headshell
• Mounting: Bayonet / SME. Fits S-shaped tonearms with a universal mount — the standard fitting on Technics SL-1200-style decks and most classic Japanese S-arms
• Combined Weight: 16.7g cartridge and headshell
• Headshell: Ortofon SH-4, anodised aluminium, gold-plated terminal pins, long finger lift. 9.2g on its own
• Output Voltage: 4mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: Not applicable — Ortofon publishes N/A
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: Not applicable — Ortofon publishes N/A
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, +3 / −1dB
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 70 µm
• Compliance: 18 µm/mN, dynamic lateral
• Stylus Type: Spherical. Ortofon specifies this one as spherical rather than nude spherical, unlike the 2M Mono — the wording is consistent across its sites and appears deliberate
• Stylus Tip Radius: R 65 µm
• Cantilever: Aluminium
• Tracking Force Range: 1.6 – 2.0g (16 – 20mN)
• Recommended Tracking Force: 1.8g (18mN)
• Internal Impedance, DC Resistance: 700 Ω
• Internal Inductance: 350mH
• Recommended Load Resistance: 47k Ω
• Recommended Load Capacitance: 150 – 300pF
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M 78. The Stylus 2M Mono fits the same body for mono microgroove LPs
• Intended Records: 78rpm shellac. This tip will not fit a microgroove LP and is not intended to
• Equalisation: 78s were cut to a range of pre-RIAA curves and a standard RIAA phono stage will replay them with a wrong tonal balance. That is our own advice — Ortofon publishes no equalisation guidance for this cartridge at all
• Stylus Life: Ortofon rates its styli at up to 1000 hours with proper care, and reckons DJ use at about 500 hours at most. This is a general figure across the range rather than a per-model specification. No separate figure is published for this tip, which runs in abrasive shellac
• Origin: Ortofon A/S of Nakskov, Denmark. Ortofon states that all its cartridges are designed and crafted in Denmark
• Warranty: Ortofon Inc. covers products bought from an authorised US dealer for one year against defects in workmanship and materials, and excludes expendable items — which on any normal reading excludes the stylus. Ortofon’s own webshop terms quote two years instead; a US dealer purchase falls under the one-year terms
• Not Published: The alignment geometry, if any, set at the factory — Ortofon never names Baerwald, Löfgren, Stevenson or any other, and never states the cartridge is pre-aligned; any factory overhang figure; azimuth adjustability of the SH-4; the leadwire model or conductor material; any groove width figure for 78s; whether the diamond is nude or bonded; any statement about vinyl-pressed or transcription discs, which vary considerably in groove size