Ortofon 2M Blue MM
2M is Danish cartridge specialist Ortofon’s entry-level hi-fi range, the company’s bread-and-butter needles, if you like. The 2M Red, at just over half the price of the Blue, is a very popular choice for a first upgrade to budget turntables, and it’s a good option.
Moving up a gear
The 2M Blue is a bit more serious. It inhabits the same angular body and has a removable, replaceable stylus.
Output is a higher-than-average 5.5mv and downforce a typical 1.8g, all of which makes the 2M Blue a pretty universal cartridge in terms of both turntables and phono stages. Build quality is high despite the largely plastic construction.
The majority of the 2M Blue’s body might be plastic but it has a mounting plate with captive nuts to provide an anchor for mounting hardware. This means you can screw the fixing bolts straight into the top.
Spinning Esperanza Spalding’s Emily’s D+evolution with this Ortofon reveals how well the vocals have been recorded and Spalding’s remarkable ability to deliver melody with both her voice and fretless bass. The sound could, however, have a bit more in the way of definition; a comparison with the Audio Technica and the Goldring reveals that, while timing is decent, the bass isn’t as solid as on either of those rivals. The Ortofon nevertheless delivers a real sense of vitality.
Captain Beefheart’s Best Batch Yet is intense and dense yet coherent in its grip. It’s difficult to get the timing right on this track, but that doesn’t stop the 2M Blue, which lets the track chug in entertaining fashion. Elgar’s Cello
Concerto reveals that the Ortofon has plenty of power, if not quite as much potential for revealing image depth as the best in this test. Clicks and pops can be a little more obvious than on the Ortofon’s leading rivals too.
The 2M Blue is a capable, even-handed cartridge. It’s not going to set the world on fire but it’s a steady, musical hand.