Ortofon 2M Blue
The 2M Blue, from Danish cartridge specialist Ortofon’s entry level hi-fi range, is a capable and reasonably even handed cartridge. It’s not going to set the world on fire but that’s not necessarily what you want with an affordable turntable.
A bit more ‘serious’ than the cheaper, popular 2M Red, the Blue inhabits the same stealth-styled body and has a removable replaceable stylus. The tip is a nude elliptical type – a whole diamond bonded to the end of the cantilever rather than a diamond tip on a metal mounting as is usually the case with budget needles.
Output is a higher than average 5.5mv and downforce a typical 1.8g, which makes the 2M Blue a pretty universal cartridge in terms of both turntables and phono stages. Build quality is high – it’s a precision moulding with a large surface area given to the removable stylus section which should minimise the vibration that can undermine this variety of cartridge.
The majority of the 2M Blue’s body may be plastic but it has a mounting plate with captive nuts to provide an anchor for mounting hardware, so you can screw the fixing bolts straight into the top and not have to deal with tiny nuts to thread on.
Spinning Esperanza Spalding’s remarkable Emily’s D+evolution with this Ortofon reveals how well the vocals have been recorded alongside the musician’s remarkable ability to deliver melody with both her voice and fretless bass. The sound could have a bit more in the way of definition and dynamics, and contrasting this with a digital version of the same piece reveals that, while timing is better with the cartridge, the bass isn’t as solid. It sounds better, because there is a stronger sense of life from the Ortofon, which is a key factor in vinyl’s appeal.
Captain Beefheart’s Best Batch Yet is intense and dense yet coherent in its grip. We test with this track because it’s difficult to get the timing right, but that proves no barrier to the 2M Blue, which lets it chug in entertaining fashion. The piece reveals that the Blue has plenty of power if not quite as much potential for revealing image depth as more costly alternatives. It also struggles to put the music in front of the surface noise, thus backgrounds aren’t as quiet as they can be and clicks and pops are quite obvious. Still, the 2M Blue is a steady hand that gets on with the tracking so that you can enjoy the music.