Cartridges

Gold Note MM cartridge, Konisch (78 U/min) stylus, 4 mV output.

Gold Note MM cartridge, Elliptisch stylus, 4 mV output.

Gold Note MM cartridge, Konisch stylus, 4 mV output.

Gold Note MM cartridge, Shibata stylus, 4 mV output.

Nude Shibata diamond on the Bronze body, 5 mV output. The finest tracking you can get on an ordinary MM input – and, according to LowBeats, “an effortlessness and balance that only a few MC cartridges in this class can better”.

For Beethoven’s 250th birthday Ortofon gave the 2M Black a boron cantilever – technology otherwise reserved for MC cartridges from 3,000 euros upward. LowBeats: “perhaps the best MM cartridge ever built”. The stylus fits any Bronze or Black body.

The same body as the Red, but with a nude elliptical diamond: lower moving mass, cleaner tracking, considerably more resolution. LowBeats gave it the best rating of the entire range – not to the dearest model, but to this one.

The entry to the upper half of the 2M range: nude Fine Line diamond, silver-plated coils, stiffer body. More analytical than Red and Blue – STEREO called it “a top MM at a keen price”, LowBeats found it divisive.

Elliptical stylus, 5.5 mV output, works on any phono input. The benchmark every entry-level cartridge is measured against – and it can be upgraded later with the Blue stylus without changing the body.

Gold Note MC cartridge, Micro Elliptisch stylus, 0,4 mV output.

Gold Note MC cartridge, Micro Elliptisch stylus, 0,5 mV output.

Gold Note MC cartridge, Micro Elliptisch stylus, 1,8 mV output.

Gold Note MC cartridge, Ultra Micro Elliptisch stylus, 0,35 mV output.

The entry model of the MC X series launched in 2025: stainless-steel body, silver coils, 0.4 mV. STEREO called it “a small sensation”; Analog Planet pitched it against the 2M Red and called the result a rout.

Nude elliptical diamond in the new stainless-steel body, 0.4 mV. The model LP Magazin made Product of the Year and AVForums rated 10/10 “Best in Class”. The sweet spot of the series for anyone who does not need boron.

Nude Fine Line diamond, 0.4 mV, stainless-steel body. What Hi-Fi gave it five stars and the 2025 Award, LowBeats 4.7 “outstanding” – and placed it as an equal alongside the Goldring Eroica LX, until now the benchmark of the class.

The top of the MC X series: nude Shibata diamond on a boron cantilever, 0.4 mV. Michael Fremer put it up against the Quintet Black in an A/B test and found the gap “vast”; in 2026 FIDELITY placed it close to the Cadenza Black at a third of the price.