The Ortofon 2M 78 Verso is the inverted-mount version of Ortofon's 2M 78 cartridge, supplied for tonearms and headshells that mount the cartridge from below. Within the 2M Verso line, it is the 78 RPM shellac specialist; the rest of the Verso family covers modern microgroove vinyl with the Red, Blue, Bronze, Black and LVB 250 stylus profiles, alongside a True Mono variant.
Inverted Body
Verso models share the same generator, magnetics and cantilever assemblies as the standard upward-facing 2M cartridges. The body is reoriented so that the threaded mounting bolts protrude downward from the cartridge top, allowing fitment to inverted headshells and integrated tonearms that present the mounting holes from underneath. Apart from orientation, the electrical and mechanical performance is identical to the equivalent standard 2M model.
78 RPM Specialist Stylus
The 2M 78 Verso uses a spherical diamond with a 65 micrometre tip radius, sized for the wider grooves of shellac 78 RPM pressings rather than the elliptical and fine-line profiles used elsewhere in the 2M range. The cartridge employs Ortofon's True Mono engine, in which both sets of pole pins deliver the same signal so that mono playback can be achieved on standard stereo equipment without dedicated mono components.
Construction
The cartridge body is moulded from Ortofon's anti-resonant Hopelex compound, common to the wider 2M family. The cantilever is an aluminium tube. Cartridge weight is 7.2 g, consistent with other 2M models, and the stylus assembly is user-replaceable. Standard half-inch mounting is used, with M2.5 screws supplied in 5 mm and 7 mm lengths.
Tracking and Compatibility
Recommended tracking force is 1.8 g, within a permissible range of 1.6 to 2.0 g. Dynamic lateral compliance is rated at 18 micrometres per millinewton, suiting medium-mass tonearms typical of modern turntables. Recommended load is 47 kilohms with 150 to 300 picofarads of capacitance, the same loading used across the rest of the 2M series.