Ortofon - 2MR Blue MM Phono Cartridge

The 2M Blue in a 3mm shorter body, so it fits a Rega-style tonearm with no spacers and no shims.

Rega tonearms are set at the factory for Rega’s own unusually short cartridges. Fit a normal 17mm-tall cartridge and the arm rides nose-high, which throws off the geometry unless you shim the arm base. Ortofon’s answer was to redesign the 2M housing: the 2MR body is 3mm shorter, which Ortofon describes as an ultra-slim 3mm height reduction that eliminates the need for spacers, shims or modifications, and it mounts with just two screws in the standard half-inch pattern.

The cartridge itself is the 2M Blue: a nude elliptical diamond at r/R 8/18 µm on an aluminium cantilever, 5.5mV output, 80 µm tracking ability and 25dB channel separation. Mounting the diamond nude rather than bonding it is the whole of the difference between this and the 2MR Red, and it is a difference you can hear.

For most Rega owners this is the sensible landing point in the range — enough cartridge to be worth the arm it sits in, without the spacer kit a standard-height 2M would require.

Nothing else changes. The generator is the same quad-coil motor with split pole pins, the loading is the same 47k ohms and 150 to 300pF, the tracking forces are the same, and the styli are fully interchangeable with the standard 2M range — Ortofon’s own replacement stylus pages list the 2MR bodies alongside the standard and premounted ones. The body is also slightly lighter, at 6g against 7.2g.

Features

• The 2M Blue cartridge in Ortofon’s slimline 2MR housing
• 3mm shorter than the standard 2M body — no spacers, shims or arm modifications on a Rega-style tonearm
• 6g body weight against 7.2g for the standard 2M
• Nude elliptical diamond, r/R 8/18 µm, on an aluminium cantilever
• 5.5mV output, 80 µm tracking ability, 25dB channel separation
• Quad-coil generator with split pole pins and OFC coil wire
• Fully compatible with all 2M series styli
• Mounts with two screws in the standard half-inch pattern

Specifications

• Type: Moving magnet stereo cartridge in Ortofon’s low-profile 2MR housing
• Designed For: Turntables and tonearms like Rega, which require a low-form-factor cartridge
• Output Voltage: 5.5mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: 25dB
• Stylus Type: Nude elliptical
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Cantilever: Aluminium
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 80 µm
• Compliance: 20 µm/mN, dynamic lateral
• 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
• Cartridge Body: Polymer and aluminium
• Cartridge Weight: 6g
• Replacement Stylus: Stylus 2M Blue. All 2M series styli fit
• Mounting: Half inch (1/2″) mount, two screws, no spacers or shims required on a Rega-style arm. Ortofon’s FAQ notes that all its other cartridges DO need spacers on a Rega arm to restore correct geometry — the 2MR exists precisely to avoid that
• 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. 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: Specific Rega turntable or tonearm model numbers — Ortofon names only the brand; whether the 2MR body is threaded; box contents; the absolute body height, which appears only in Ortofon’s launch press release as 14mm against the standard 17mm and on no product page; channel separation, frequency response, internal impedance and inductance, which Ortofon omits from the 2MR tables
• Note: Ortofon’s 2MR specification tables are abridged compared with the standard 2M tables, and they contain figures that contradict the standard pages — 2MR Red compliance is listed as 18 µm/mN on one Ortofon site and 20 on the other, and 2MR Black is listed at 20 against the standard 2M Black’s 22. Since Ortofon presents the 2MR as a housing change only, these look like page errors rather than real differences. We have quoted the standard 2M figures, which Ortofon publishes more completely