The Ortofon 2M Blue Premounted pairs the 2M Blue moving magnet 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 2M Blue used in Ortofon's 2M series for modern microgroove vinyl, factory-aligned in the headshell with the leadwires already terminated, removing the need for separate mounting and alignment work.
2M Blue Cartridge
Sitting one step above the entry-level 2M Red in the 2M family, the 2M Blue is fitted with a nude elliptical diamond, a higher-grade stylus profile that sits directly on the aluminium cantilever rather than being tipped onto a metal shank. The reduced effective tip mass allows finer tracing of the record groove, with Ortofon quoting an output of 5.5 mV at 1 kHz, channel separation of 25 dB, and tracking ability of 80 μm at 315 Hz. The cartridge body shares the geometry and split pole pin engine of the rest of the 2M range.
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 DJ-style and mid-priced hi-fi turntables.
Construction
The cartridge body is constructed from polymer and aluminium, the same engineering approach used across the wider 2M series. The cantilever is an aluminium tube. Coils use OFC wire for low-loss signal transfer. The stylus assembly is user-replaceable, and a higher-grade upgrade path is available by fitting a 2M Bronze or 2M Black stylus into the same cartridge body.
Tracking and Compatibility
Ortofon recommend a tracking force of 1.8 g, within a permissible range of 1.6 to 2.0 g. Dynamic lateral compliance is rated at 20 μm/mN, making the 2M Blue compatible with the majority of medium-mass tonearms. Output voltage of 5.5 mV at 1 kHz is well above the 4 mV typical of moving magnet designs and matches the input requirements of any standard MM phono stage.