Ortofon - 2M Red Verso MM Cartridge - Bottom-Mount

The 2M Red built for bottom-mount headshells — the same cartridge with its top plate reversed.

Most cartridges bolt to the underside of a headshell. A handful of headshell and integrated-arm designs instead require the cartridge to be attached from below, with the screws passing upward — a configuration an ordinary top-mount cartridge physically cannot accommodate. The Verso is Ortofon’s answer, and the solution is elegantly simple.

The 2M’s top plate is a separate part, so the Verso ships with that plate flipped 180 degrees and fitted with M2.0 screws, presenting a threaded face on what would normally be the underside. A Torx 8 key, supplied, handles the screws. Nothing else about the cartridge changes — same generator, same stylus, same 7.2g, same loading, same tracking force as the standard version.

The cartridge is the 2M Red: a tipped elliptical diamond at r/R 8/18 µm on an aluminium cantilever, 5.5mV output from a quad-coil generator with split pole pins and OFC coil wire, and standard 47k ohm loading. It sits at the entry point of the 2M series, with the whole upgrade path above it — a Stylus 2M Blue drops straight in and gives genuine 2M Blue performance.

Features

• The 2M Red cartridge configured for bottom-mount headshells
• Top plate reversed and fitted with M2.0 screws; Torx 8 key supplied
• Tipped elliptical diamond, r/R 8/18 µm, on an aluminium cantilever
• 5.5mV output; quad-coil generator with split pole pins and OFC coil wire
• Electrically and mechanically identical to the standard 2M Red
• Takes the same 2M styli, including the Stylus 2M Blue as an upgrade

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet stereo cartridge, bottom-mount configuration
• Mounting: Half inch bottom mount. The top plate is reversed and takes M2.0 screws, fitted and removed with the supplied Torx 8 key
• Output Voltage: 5.5mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: 1.5dB
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: 22dB
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, +3 / −1dB
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 70 µm
• Compliance: 20 µm/mN, dynamic lateral
• Stylus Type: Elliptical, tipped
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Cantilever: Aluminium
• Tracking Force Range: 1.6 – 2.0g (16 – 20mN)
• Recommended Tracking Force: 1.8g (18mN)
• Tracking Angle: 20°
• Internal Impedance, DC Resistance: 1.3k Ω
• Internal Inductance: 700mH
• Recommended Load Resistance: 47k Ω
• Recommended Load Capacitance: 150 – 300pF
• Coil System: Quad coils with split pole pins and OFC coil wire
• Cartridge Body: Polymer and aluminium
• Cartridge Weight: 7.2g. Note that Ortofon’s own 2M Red Verso specification table misprints this as 16.7g, which is the cartridge-plus-headshell figure from the premounted line and cannot be right for a bare cartridge. The error appears on both of Ortofon’s sites; every other Verso page gives 7.2g
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M Red. The Stylus 2M Blue fits the same body as an upgrade
• 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
• Cleaning: Ortofon warns specifically against propyl alcohol and other cleaning fluids, which can seriously damage the diamond cement and the suspension system
• 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. A stylus is an expendable item, so a worn stylus is not a warranty matter — this is a replacement part, not a claim
• Not Published: Any list of headshells or turntables that require bottom mounting; a Verso-specific weight or dimensions; itemised box contents; any statement that standard 2M styli fit Verso bodies
• Note: Two things to know. Ortofon does not name a single headshell or turntable that requires bottom mounting, so if you are unsure whether you need a Verso, check your headshell before ordering or ask us. And Ortofon’s replacement stylus pages list the standard, 2MR and premounted bodies but omit the Verso entirely — standard 2M styli do fit, since the body is mechanically identical, but Ortofon has never stated it in writing