Ortofon - 2M Blue MM Phono Cartridge

The same engine as the 2M Red with a nude elliptical diamond in place of a tipped one — and on paper, that single change does all the work.

The 2M Blue is the sweet spot of the series, and understanding why means understanding what is and is not different from the Red. Electrically they are the same cartridge: identical 5.5mV output, the same 1.3k ohm and 700mH generator, the same aluminium cantilever, the same quad-coil configuration with OFC wire. The entire performance gain comes from the diamond.

The Red carries a tipped elliptical; the Blue carries a nude elliptical of the same 8/18 µm radius. Mounting the diamond nude rather than bonding it to a metal shank cuts the moving mass at the business end, and Ortofon’s own numbers show what that buys: tracking ability rises from 70 to 80 µm, channel separation from 22 to 25dB, and the frequency response tightens from +3/−1dB to +2/−1dB.

That shared engine is also why the Blue stylus is the most useful single upgrade Ortofon sells. Fitted to a 2M Red body it delivers genuine Blue performance, Ortofon says so explicitly, and the job is nothing more than pulling off the old stylus and pushing on the new one — no realignment, no disturbing your overhang or tracking force.

For most systems and most records this is where the 2M line stops being a compromise. It wants the standard 47k ohm moving magnet load and somewhere between 150 and 300pF of capacitance, which is what nearly every phono stage presents.

Features

• Nude elliptical diamond, r/R 8/18 µm, on an aluminium cantilever
• Same generator as the 2M Red — the gain over the Red is entirely in the nude diamond
• Tracking ability of 80 µm and 25dB channel separation
• 5.5mV output into a standard 47k Ω moving magnet input
• Quad-coil generator with split pole pins and OFC coil wire
• The Stylus 2M Blue is Ortofon’s endorsed upgrade for a 2M Red body
• Threaded half-inch mounting plate; two screws, no nuts
• Also available in 2MR form for Rega-style tonearms, premounted on an SH-4 headshell, and as a bottom-mount Verso

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet stereo cartridge
• Output Voltage: 5.5mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: 1.5dB
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: 25dB
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, +2 / −1dB
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 80 µm at recommended tracking force
• Compliance: 20 µm/mN, dynamic lateral. See note below
• Stylus Type: Nude elliptical
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Equivalent Stylus Tip Mass: 0.5mg
• 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
• Colour: Black / Blue
• Cartridge Weight: 7.2g
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M Blue
• Stylus Interchange: Shares an engine with the 2M Red and 2M Silver, so styli swap freely within that group. Bronze and Black styli belong to a different group and a different engine; they will physically fit but Ortofon does not state the combination is supported
• 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: Frequency range at −3dB; channel separation at 15kHz; itemised box contents
• Note on Compliance: Ortofon’s web product pages and its 2M user guide PDF publish different compliance figures for the same cartridges. We quote the product page value; the user guide gives a figure 2 µm/mN lower. Ortofon also never states the frequency at which compliance is measured, which matters when comparing against makers who quote at 100Hz
• Note: Ortofon has dropped two rows from its current product pages that appear in its own printed 2M brochure: channel separation at 15kHz, and frequency range at −3dB. Where we have those figures we have marked them as brochure values. Any other 15kHz or extended-range figure circulating on retailer sites is legacy or third-party data