Ortofon - 2M Black LVB 250 MM Phono Cartridge

Ortofon’s Beethoven 250th anniversary cartridge: the 2M Black’s Shibata diamond moved onto a boron cantilever, with a carbon nanotube suspension.

LVB 250 stands for Ludwig van Beethoven 250, and Ortofon released it to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth in December 2020. Three things change against the standard 2M Black, and one conspicuously does not.

The cantilever changes from aluminium to boron — extremely stiff and light, which Ortofon says adds transparency, speed and responsiveness. The suspension changes to what Ortofon calls its Nano Tube system, a rubber compound loaded with multi-wall carbon nanotubes as a nano filler, which the company says improves damping and overall performance. And the recommended tracking force rises slightly to 1.6g, in a narrower 1.5 to 1.7g window, as a stiffer cantilever requires.

What does not change is the diamond or the engine. The stylus is the same nude Shibata at the same r/R 6/50 µm — the tip is not upgraded, its carrier is. The generator is the same quad-coil arrangement with silver-plated OFC wire, and output, DC resistance, inductance, compliance and loading are all identical to the 2M Black. Published channel separation rises from 26 to 27dB.

A note on how this is usually sold: it is almost universally described in the trade as a limited edition, but Ortofon publishes no production quantity, does not use the phrase on its product page, and has kept it in the catalogue as a regular line item with its own 2MR and premounted versions and its own replacement stylus. It is a current product, not a closing window.

Features

• Boron cantilever — the only 2M model with one
• Nano Tube suspension: a rubber compound using multi-wall carbon nanotubes as a nano filler
• Nude Shibata diamond, r/R 6/50 µm, the same profile as the standard 2M Black
• Quad-coil generator with split pole pins and silver-plated OFC coil wire
• 27dB channel separation
• Recommended tracking force of 1.6g in a 1.5 – 1.7g window
• Released to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in December 2020
• The Stylus 2M Black LVB 250 is an Ortofon-endorsed upgrade for both 2M Bronze and 2M Black bodies
• Also available in 2MR form for Rega-style tonearms and premounted on an SH-4 headshell — there is no Verso version

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet stereo cartridge
• Output Voltage: 5mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: 1dB
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: 27dB
• Channel Separation at 15kHz: 15dB (published on Ortofon’s LVB Anniversary page, not on the main product page)
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, +2 / −1dB per Ortofon’s cartridge page. See note below — Ortofon’s own stylus page gives a different figure
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 80 µm at recommended tracking force
• Compliance: 22 µm/mN, dynamic lateral
• Stylus Type: Nude Shibata on a boron cantilever
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 6/50 µm
• Cantilever: Boron
• Suspension: Ortofon’s Nano Tube system — a rubber compound using multi-wall carbon nanotubes as a highly efficient nano filler, which Ortofon says ensures better damping and improves overall performance
• Tracking Force Range: 1.5 – 1.7g (15 – 17mN)
• Recommended Tracking Force: 1.6g (16mN)
• Tracking Angle: 20°
• Internal Impedance, DC Resistance: 1.2k Ω
• Internal Inductance: 630mH
• Recommended Load Resistance: 47k Ω
• Recommended Load Capacitance: 150 – 300pF
• Coil System: Quad coils with split pole pins and silver-plated OFC coil wire — unchanged from the 2M Black
• Cartridge Body: Polymer and aluminium
• Colour: Black / Black
• Cartridge Weight: 7.2g
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M Black LVB 250
• Stylus Interchange: Belongs to the Bronze / Black / Black LVB 250 group. Note that fitting a standard Stylus 2M Black to this body removes the boron cantilever and the Nano Tube suspension along with the old stylus, and returns the cartridge to 2M Black performance
• Variants: 2MR Black LVB 250 for Rega-style tonearms, and a premounted version on an SH-4 headshell. Unlike every other 2M model, there is no Verso version
• Edition: Ortofon publishes no production quantity and does not describe this as a limited edition on its product page. It has remained a catalogue product since 2020
• Mounting: Half inch (1/2″) mount. The 2M threaded mounting plate is 3mm thick, so no nuts are needed. Ortofon supplies a pair of M2.5 screws with a 5mm thread length, to be used with headshells up to 3.5mm thick. Ortofon warns against overtightening and against aluminium screws, which can seize in the threaded holes
• Stylus Life: Ortofon rates its styli at up to 1000 hours with proper care, and notes that DJ use — scratching and back-cueing — should be reckoned at about 500 hours at most. This is a general figure across the range rather than a per-model specification
• Cleaning: Ortofon specifically warns against propyl alcohol and other cleaning fluids, which can seriously damage the diamond cement and the suspension system
• Design: The 2M series was developed with the Danish industrial design house Møller Jensen Design. Ortofon does not publish the year the series launched
• Origin: Ortofon A/S of Nakskov, Denmark. Ortofon states that all its cartridges are designed and crafted in Denmark
• Warranty: Ortofon Inc. covers cartridges 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. Note that Ortofon’s own webshop terms quote a two-year warranty instead; a US dealer purchase falls under the one-year terms
• Not Published: Any production quantity or edition number; frequency range at −3dB; the compliance measurement frequency; any statement that the engine differs from the standard 2M Black
• Note: Ortofon publishes contradictory frequency response figures for this cartridge: the product page gives +2 / −1dB while the matching stylus page gives +2 / −0dB. Since the stylus assembly carries the cantilever and suspension, these cannot both be right — and taken literally, the +2 / −1dB figure would make the flagship measure worse than the standard 2M Black beneath it, which is published at +2 / −0dB. We have reproduced the cartridge page figure and flagged the conflict rather than picking the flattering one. Ortofon also runs a separate anniversary page whose heading, body copy and print marking cite three different numbers — 150, 250 and 105 — and we have not sourced anything from it