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Ortofon invented the moving coil cartridge in 1946 and to this day still make all of their cartridges at their factory in Denmark. This is a testament to their 100 year plus history of moving the bar forward for great sound. Another mark of success is the large number of turntable brands that choose Ortofon cartridges for their turntables. The 2M series we are talking about today are modestly priced, have plenty of output for most systems, and offer a heck of a lot of value for the money. First, we thought it might be interesting to clue you in on how the name of this series came about. Take a look at this phrase: Moving Magnet Do you see the two letter M’s? Yes, the 2M series are all moving magnet phono cartridges designed to work with just about any phono preamp.

Let’s get into some of the technology they all share. Back in the heyday of CD’s Ortofon was developing a new technology to allow moving magnet cartridges to have a flatter response at the top end of their range. If you were to chop apart a typical moving magnet cartridge, on the end of the system that generates energy you’d find what are called pole pieces which then get wired to the connections on the back of the cartridges. Historically these were tiny hollow cylinders. Ortofon found if you put a tiny slit down the length of the cylinder, it would reduce eddy current losses caused by magnetic hysteresis. This is called split pole pins. That’s a lot of tech talk, but the end result is a more flat frequency response with greater extension, and more accurate phase between the two channels. All of the 2M models share this tech. Almost all 2M models are made from the same pretty neat polycarbonate material called Hopelex. This is an environmentally friendly material with very high rigidity that also is almost resonant free. Using Hopelex means no external resonances will make their way into the sound the cartridge is pulling out of the record grooves.

Ortofon designed the output of the 2M series models and the size and weight to be compatible with as many different turntables and amplifiers on the market as possible. This along with their great sound value for the money is another reason you’ll see 2M models on many different turntables. When your stylus wears out, you will not have to take the cartridge off as all of the 2M models have a user replaceable stylus. This leads into another really great feature the 2M models have. If you have a Red or Bronze Ortofon, these have identical insides as the next models up, the Blue and Black. The big difference between the Red and Blue or Bronze and Black is the stylus assembly. You can easily upgrade your sound when it's time to buy a replacement stylus if you have a Red or Bronze by simply installing a Blue or Black stylus. This is pretty cool, especially for all of those Red’s that came with pretty decent turntables like the Debut Carbon. We should point out you can not jump from a Red to a Bronze or Black as the internal workings are different. Or if you are into mono and 78’s, those two cartridges also have interchangeable stylus assemblies, pretty neat!

While most people will use the standard 2M type, Ortofon does offer two other versions of these great cartridges, just from a mounting standpoint. There are some vintage turntables out there that require the cartridge to mount from the bottom side of the tonearm. This is called the 2M Verso. If you have a turntable with a bayonet type mount where the entire headshell comes off, you can get any of the 2M models premounted to a specially designed Ortofon headshell which uses a very non resonant compound Ortofon developed for the Medical industry. This is called the “Plug & Play MkII” model.

You can tell Ortofon is going to make a cartridge for every type of application. And this video only covered the moving magnets! They make a huge variety of moving coils for those of you wanting even higher performance. Everytime you move up, you will hear more music from your record grooves, but it is a matter of getting the cartridge that is best matched for your turntable and system. We are here to help you on your vinyl journey with both advice and set up help. We hope our video has helped you understand the differences in the 2M models and that you have learned something about this great Danish company who is now pushing towards their 110th anniversary!

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