Ortofon Blue MM Cartridge $189

Ortofon is a REAL MANUFACTURER, based in Denmark. Ortofon builds its own cartridges in its own house with Danish TENDER LOVING CARE.

Cartridge manufacturing is tedious, precision work. Ortofon is the most reliable REAL MANUFACTURER of carts out there! Consistency and excellence are Ortofon hallmarks regardless of price. We can’t say that about other cartridge manufacturers.

We’ve learned, the hard way, that many high end cartridge manufacturers are not consistent or reliable. Cantilevers go timber. Diamond styli can be significantly out of alignment. When you see
a stylus under a microscope… sometimes you just can’t believe what got out the door. With Ortofon, you have no such worries.

Blue 2M

The Blue 2M is an MM cart with 5.5 mV output. Many moving magnets provide half that output, which will reveal the noise of a less than stellar phono preamp. With 5.5 output- it’s plenty for any MM phono section to work with, without adding superfluous noise. If your cart puts out half this voltage for ex, a noisy phono preamp will bring attention to itself.

The Blue uses a nude elliptical stylus. You don’t even have to ASK about the precision of the diamond being used, or if it has been affixed properly to the cantilever.

With most brands, THIS is where you start!

Most cartridges in this range use a bonded stylus. That is, a small piece of diamond Scotch taped- OK, excuse the dig- I mean, glued to the cantilever. This again, is precision work, that isn’t done well with most brands.

The Orto Red is my fave cart for $100. But it’s bonded and the Blue is worth $89 more, which is why I’ve put the Blue on my fave’s list.

The Blue is an outstanding tracker that sounds smooth and full. You can only beat it when you go up to its pricier brother, the Bronze 2m.