Ortofon 2M Red Premounted 2M Red Pickup Mounted on SH-4 Black Headshell

I bought this as an emergency measure to replace a Charisma MC-2 cartridge that was ruined when it struck my turntable platter while I was adjusting the tracking force. For a cheap cartridge, this is seriously impressive and sounds almost as good as the Charisma, which was ten times the combined cost of this cartridge and headshell combined. The premounted unit screws right onto my tonearm's headshell mount, no tools or alignment required. The headshell is very light so I had to tape a penny to the top of it to get sufficient tracking force, but if you have a lighter-weight tonearm (the sort you would expect to mount a $100 cartridge) this probably won't be a problem. The sound quality isn't quite top tier (pretty close though!), but it is way better than cartridges at this price point used to sound, and it is very forgiving, with far less surface noise on worn records than the Charisma. There is virtually no coloration or "EQ" of the sound, it does not give you a "warm" version or a "bright" version of the music, but exactly the timbres you would hear on a well-mastered CD. I have not attempted it, but stylus replacement is supposed to be extremely quick and easy, with the ability to swap in the stylus from the next model up in the range, giving you effectively a $50 discount on a future Ortofon Blue purchase. The futuristic plastic casing looks a bit cheap for those of us who like old fashioned rectilinear styling, but it's a fine cartridge and a screaming value.

sounds amazing gave it a test before attempting to align the cartridge factory settings are great no need just adjust the tracking force and you are good to go don't fall into the nitpicky vinyl rabbithole this is premounted to avoid that

I purchased my Audio-Technica ATLP120XBTUSB turntable 3 years ago, so it was probably time to upgrade the original AT-VM95E stylus before it went bad.Eventually I chose the Ortofon 2M Red mounted stylus for a few reasons. It didn’t break my bank account and it came PREmounted. It took a little effort to balance and calibrate the 2m Red but it was worth it.I’m hearing a more defined midrange and bass on some albums. This was definitely a great investment and it looks great on my turntable. I’d definitely recommend the Ortofon 2M Red as an affordable upgrade for anyone in the vinyl community. A+++P.S. Shout out to the folks at Ortofon for the outstanding packaging and Amazon for SUPER FAST shipping

Have to give this company kudos for providing phone support to customers trying to navigate the complex world of styluses, cartridges, tone arms, pre-amps and turntables. It's only complicated because of incomplete or misinformation out there, not because of it being truly complex. Granted, they only produce headshells cartridges and styluses, and don't make promises, but when other manufacturers don't step up with knowledgeable or helpful tech support, I found these guys to be exemplary not just answering questions about their products but also filling in the gaps. Rare in today's world. They won me over, keep up the good work. And the product is excellent BTW. I've heard some misgivings about the 2m Red on the Internet, but that hasn't been my experience at all. It shines on both a vintage Sony and a new Fluance RT82.

I have a new old stock ADC QLM 36 Mk III cartridge, and this is a PERFECT replacement in terms of sound quality. I only purchased this because I am on my last backup stylus for my current cartridge and used options are not available or easily obtained. I wanted a newer solution with the same sound quality. I highly recommend this for users who want similar performance. I have a Technics SL-1700 turntable for reference.

Very clear sound easy to install

If you're considering spending the extra money, do it!It sounds amazing and it's easy to install.

Excellent performance and value. The music is so much better than the stock cartridge on my denon.