OrtofonSH-4 Headshell - Black

Ortofon Headshells are well made and come with quality wires for the cartridge.

I recently upgraded my beautiful vintage Yamaha YP-D71 turntable with a Ortofon 2M Bronze and wanted a matching Ortofon headshell. The cart came before the headshell so I temporarily installed in on my existing Technics headshell my Ortofon 2M Blue was installed on. That was a piece of cake. The problems started when I went to add the Ortofon headshell on the turntable. I have been in the 2 channel viny game for a very, very long time and I have never seen the simple addition of a new headshell throw every single setting of a turntable off. I knew the weight would be different but the VTA needed to be redone as well. It wasn't even close. When I first dropped the tonearm the stylus did touch the vinyl surface, it hovered above it. Apparently the cart rides much higher on the Ortofon cart than the Technics. After a few hours of tinkering with it I got it right and it looks and sounds fantastic. The extra large finger lift is a nice feature. Highly recommended.

It was easy to use and worked out great.

Okay, yeah, it’s not cheap. But this headshell is a quality piece of equipment. I was stunned when I couldn’t get a signal out of a brand new Ortofon 2M cartridge. Like an idiot (after trying a different integrated amplifier, and even a different phono preamp), I returned the cartridge, when the problem lay in my headshell—something that never occurred to me, because it had never malfunctioned before. I now have the perfect match: a 2M mounted in an Ortofon headshell. The pins on the 2M fit snugly into the (included) wires’ sleeves, which are the best I’ve yet encountered. You could spend a lot more for a headshell... and you could spend a lot less. But why? A recommended purchase for anyone who is at all serious about listening to vinyl.

Ortofon hits the nail right on the head with this little guy. I opted to replace my headshell off of my new Music Hall USB-1 phono right away, because it just looked cheap and had standard connections. I did a little homework and came across this little gem. It costs around 30 bucks so was just a little more expensive than the other headshells, I was looking at. Ultimately what impressed me the most was the fact that the company used an all metal design, and a longer finger lift, I have big fingers. This little tweak made it a lot easier for me to lift the tone arm. All of the connections are gold for better connectivity, even the four posts in the back connecting the headshell to the tone arm are gold. Nice detail there. Ok does it sound better? I just happened to have an extra Audio-Technica AT3600L moving-magnet phono cartridge, that is what comes with the record player. I cued up Led-Zeppelin's No Quarter and the Ortofon version was not only clearer it was louder. So in the end there is an audible difference in this upgrade. I would recomend replacing your standard or old headshell with this model you will be happy. I also recommend changing your cartridge at the same timeGrado Prestige Red Standard Mount Turntable Cartridge. If you have an old worn out, or cheap cartridge, your change in sound quality will not be as great or maybe none at all. Garbage in still equals garbage out. The Ortofon SH-4 can't do miracles but it sure can add to a pleasurable experience.

I mounted a DL-301R cartridge on this Head shell. The tone arm is SME and turntable Soto Sapphire it was easy install and the alignment process was fairly easy also I did not use there cartridge lead wires cheaply made I upgraded to silver coated wires makes a difference. overall this head shell is nicely made and feels solid

Great design! 👍🏻 I love the looks of it with my Ortofon 2M Black. 😎

Don't go too cheap on a headshell for your LP cartridge or you'll be sorry. They *do* make a difference to the sound.I've used this well made Ortofon and the Stanton H4S metal units that come with the screw on 2g/4g circular weights. Both work well. The long arm is a definite plus on this unit. It seems to work fine without the need of additional weights. The connection wires are also very sturdy and are of very high quality. Recommended.