The Ortofon 2M Black Premounted pairs the flagship 2M Black cartridge with the Ortofon SH-4 headshell as a single ready-to-fit assembly, designed to drop straight into S-shaped tonearms with a standard SME-type bayonet connector. The cartridge itself is the same nude Shibata-tipped 2M Black that sits at the top of the 2M moving magnet range, factory-aligned in the headshell with the leadwires already terminated, removing the need for separate mounting and alignment work.
Flagship 2M Cartridge
The 2M Black is the flagship of the 2M series, fitted with a nude Shibata diamond stylus mounted on an aluminium cantilever, paired with a silver-plated OFC coil wire. The stylus tip uses an r/R 6/50 µm radius profile that traces the high-frequency information in the record groove with greater accuracy than the elliptical and fine-line tips used further down the range. The result is a cartridge intended to extract every detail from the recording, with a flat 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response (+2 / −0 dB) and channel separation of 26 dB at 1 kHz.
SH-4 Headshell
The supplied SH-4 is Ortofon's universal headshell, machined for cartridges with a half-inch standard mount and finished to match the 2M cartridge body. It uses a four-pin bayonet connector for direct attachment to compatible S-shaped tonearms, with the cartridge already wired and torqued to Ortofon's recommended specification. Total weight of the cartridge and headshell assembly is 16.7 g, suitable for medium-mass tonearms commonly fitted to mid-priced and high-end hi-fi turntables.
Construction
The cartridge body is constructed from polymer and aluminium, the same engineering approach used across the wider 2M series. The aluminium cantilever provides a balance of rigidity and low mass, while the silver-plated OFC coil wire reduces resistive losses in the generator. The stylus assembly is user-replaceable.
Tracking and Compatibility
Ortofon recommend a tracking force of 1.5 g, within a permissible range of 1.4 to 1.7 g. Dynamic lateral compliance is rated at 22 µm/mN, making the 2M Black compatible with the majority of medium-mass tonearms. Output voltage of 5 mV at 1 kHz is typical for the 2M moving magnet family and matches the input requirements of any standard MM phono stage.
