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Ortofon 2M Black
The 2M Black is the flagship of the series, and it lives up to this with flying colors. You can hear every little detail in the music from every part of the spectrum. Just the way the artist wanted you to. This is for those who want to sense the presence of the artist in the room when they listen to their records.
Accuracy level
With the 2M Black, you will not only hear the music, but you will sense the presence of the artist in the room while listening to your favorite records.
Stylus
The 2M Black is graced with a Shibata diamond that gives it contact with the groove like nothing else. The slim, highly polished profile allows an exceedingly wide contact area to the groove walls and ensures notably detailed reproduction throughout the spectrum, including even the most high frequency groove information.
Exploring the lineup
The 2M series is built on our philosophy of accuracy in sound. All our experience, know-how, technology, and innovation has gone into making it the series that lets you hear the music the way the artist intended. In every piece of every cartridge, we strive for perfection, and when the technology can’t deliver the quality we want - we invent something that can. To ensure the highest of quality in our product we keep everything close. All our cartridges are designed and crafted right here in Denmark.
The 2M Series is developed in conjunction with the Danish Industrial designer Møller Jensen Design. Inspired by the facets of a diamond, whose contours gracefully trace the grooves on a record’s surface, the 2M’s handsome elegance establishes a great combination of form and functionality.
Features
The 2M Black uses a special engine featuring Ortofon’s very own invention: split pole pins upgraded with a silver-plated copper wire.
The 2M Series is designed for easy cartridge mounting, weight, and size to fit the most common turntables today.
The 2M Series are available in four different product variant configurations: the 2M for most common turntables on the market; the 2M Premounted, for customers who wish direct and easy mounting and replacement on their S-shaped tonearm; the 2M Verso, for bottom mount headshells; and the 2MR, which is designed cartridge housing tailored for turntables and tonearms like Rega, matching their requirement for low-form factor cartridges.
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Professional Reviews 87/100
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
88/100
Build Quality
88/100
Features Usability
86/100
Value for Money
86/100
Neutral balance, crisp treble, and confident bass make the Ortofon 2M Black a revealing MM cartridge that stays musical rather than clinical. Graig Neville of Part Time Audiophile heard stronger resolution, cleaner imaging, and better dynamics with careful setup, making it a polished, highly capable upgrade for serious vinyl systems.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Delivers a neutral, accurate tonal balance that remains musical and non-clinical across genres.
Offers impressive resolution and treble crispness, letting listeners hear deeper into recordings.
Produces good imaging and a soundstage that moves beyond a flat 2D presentation.
Responds well to setup and capacitance tuning, unlocking tighter bass and better dynamics.
&
Cons
Can sound a bit lifeless and less dynamic if loading or capacitance is not well matched.
Its 3D imaging is good but not especially deep compared with top-tier cartridges.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 88/100
Reviewers describe a neutral, correct-sounding cartridge that is accurate without being sterile or laid back. They also note clear gains in resolution, treble crispness, and overall musical competence across genres, with only a mild note that it is not especially overtly dynamic.
Overall Sound
90/100
Graig Neville calls it 'neutral without being sterile' and says it is about 'correct sound,' with a smooth midrange, accurate balance, and more clarity and resolution than expected. He also says it suited every genre he tried, which points to a consistently convincing tonal character.
Tracking Retrieval
88/100
The review suggests strong groove retrieval, with the cartridge letting the listener 'hear deeper into the recording' and bringing out 'clarity and crispness in the treble.' The only explicit tracking comment is broad praise that it 'does most everything well,' so the evidence is positive but not richly detailed.
Soundstage Imaging
85/100
Imaging is described as good, with a stage that goes beyond the usual flat presentation and a slightly more pinpoint image after setup changes. The reviewer also notes that the 3D picture 'wasn't deep,' which keeps this from sounding especially expansive.
FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 86/100
As a standard 5 mV moving-magnet cartridge with moderate compliance and normal loading requirements, it should work in a wide range of tonearms and phono stages. The review also suggests it responds well to setup and capacitance matching, which is practical rather than fussy, though it does benefit from attention to system tuning.
Tonearm Compatibility
86/100
Its 5 mV output, moderate compliance, and standard 47 kOhm loading make it broadly compatible with many MM setups and a wide range of tonearms. The review hints that capacitance choice affects liveliness and dynamics, so it is easy to integrate but still rewards proper matching.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
88/100
The reviews say little about long-term construction, but the cartridge is presented as a serious, well-executed design with no complaints about fit, finish, or basic reliability. The overall impression is of a properly made cartridge that behaves like a refined flagship rather than a compromised one.
Value for Money
86/100
Value is discussed only modestly, mainly in comparison with the pricier LVB250 sibling and in the context of the 2M line's strong reputation. That framing suggests the asking price is substantial, but the cartridge is still seen as a worthwhile summit within the range rather than an obvious stretch.
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Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Ortofon 2M Black
- In Living Stereo — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- Resolution A/V — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- The Audio Association — in-store — Anaheim, California, United States (website)
- 2C Stereo — in-store — Washington, District of Columbia, United States (website)
- à la carte productions — in-store — Palm Coast, Florida, United States (website)
- A Tube High Fidelity — in-store — Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands (website)
- A/V Solutions — in-store — Pleasanton, California, United States (website)
- Accent On Music — in-store — Mount Kisco, New York, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Acoustic Streams — in-store — Lower Drift, England, United Kingdom (website)
and 364 more verified dealers