Ortofon - 2M Black MM Cartridge Mounted on SH-4 Headshell

The 2M Black already bolted to an SH-4 headshell — a nude Shibata diamond, ready to clip onto an S-shaped arm.

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.

The 2M Black and 2M Bronze are the same cartridge apart from the diamond — identical output, separation, compliance, generator and body. The Black carries a nude Shibata at r/R 6/50 µm, a narrower front radius riding in a longer contact flank, which Ortofon describes as a slim, highly polished profile allowing an exceedingly wide contact area to the groove walls. Ortofon’s own brochure puts the −3dB point at 31kHz.

Note the cantilever is aluminium. Boron belongs to the 2M Black LVB 250 alone, and a great deal of retail copy gets this wrong.

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 Black premounted on an SH-4 headshell, leadwires connected
• Bayonet / SME fitting for S-shaped tonearms with a universal mount
• Combined weight 16.7g
• Nude Shibata diamond, r/R 6/50 µm, on an aluminium cantilever
• Quad-coil generator with split pole pins and silver-plated OFC coil wire
• Ortofon’s brochure puts the −3dB point at 31kHz
• The Stylus 2M Black LVB 250 fits as an Ortofon-endorsed upgrade

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet stereo cartridge 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: 5mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: 1dB
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: 26dB
• Channel Separation at 15kHz: 15dB (Ortofon 2M brochure; dropped from the current product page)
• Frequency Range: 20Hz – 31,000Hz at −3dB (Ortofon 2M brochure)
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, +2 / −0dB
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 80 µm
• Compliance: 22 µm/mN, dynamic lateral
• Stylus Type: Nude Shibata
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 6/50 µm
• Cantilever: Aluminium. Boron is exclusive to the 2M Black LVB 250
• Tracking Force Range: 1.4 – 1.7g (14 – 17mN)
• Recommended Tracking Force: 1.5g (15mN)
• 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
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M Black. The Stylus 2M Black LVB 250 fits 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
• 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