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

The 2M Red already bolted to an SH-4 headshell — drop it onto an S-shaped arm and you have skipped the fiddliest part of the job.

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 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 the standard 47k ohm loading any moving magnet stage provides. It is the entry point to the 2M series and the start of an upgrade path — a Stylus 2M Blue drops into this same body and gives genuine 2M Blue performance.

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 Red premounted on an SH-4 headshell, leadwires connected
• Bayonet / SME fitting for S-shaped tonearms with a universal mount
• Combined weight 16.7g
• Anodised aluminium headshell with gold-plated terminal pins and a long finger lift
• Tipped elliptical diamond, r/R 8/18 µm, on an aluminium cantilever
• 5.5mV output — an easy match for any moving magnet phono stage
• Takes all 2M series styli, including the Stylus 2M Blue as an 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, 51.5mm long, 20.0mm wide
• 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)
• Recommended Load Resistance: 47k Ω
• Recommended Load Capacitance: 150 – 300pF
• Coil System: Quad coils with split pole pins and OFC coil wire
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M Red. The Stylus 2M Blue fits the same body as an Ortofon-endorsed 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