Ortofon cartridges

I'm possibly interested in getting a new cart for my arm (SME 309). Anybody have any experience using any of the Ortofon carts at around the £1000 retail mark? I've previously heard the Rohmann used with an SME V and it sounded pretty good (if memory serves). What are the general plus and minus points of the Ortofon carts around this price point?

Cheers

Jim

 

Mr C,

I have noticed that a lot of dealers are heavily discounting Ortofohn. I bought my 500 quid Kontrapunkt for about 300 pounds. The 700 Kontrapunkt A was available for about 150 extra, and a similar amount for the Rohmann. It will definately pay you to shop about. Theres a dealer in Germany who's name Ive forgotten (someone will say) where you can get about 50% off.

I went from the MC15 super 2 to the Kontrapunkt, and they are both very similar in character - quite lively and spicy. The 'A' is supposed to be better of course. Ive heard a Rohmann, and would describe it as more level and less peaky (if that makes sense).

My experience is limited mainly to the Kontrapunkt and the MC15, so others can no doubt tell you more:... from memory SCIDB - SME V and Jubilee, Sideshowbob - technoarm and Rohmann, HenryT - SME V and Frog.

I think if you pay the kind of prices above for them, there is little to criticize IMO.

 

Have a look at http://www.phonophono.de/

I use a Rohmann, it's a great all-rounder, what more can I say? You probably won't be able to get a meaningful listen to any of them before buying, so just take a risk...

I paid £500 for mine, including shipping from Germany. If you buy in the UK you will be ripped off.

In the normal run of things, however, it may make sense to look at upgrading the arm first.

-- Ian

 

Yes, I've heard a Rohmann on the end of an SME V on a Michell Orbe t/t. Liked it a lot, it is definitely a great all rounder for the money and to be honest nothing that I could really criticise. At the heavily discount price of £500 you might as well save your money and go for it.

I had a bit more money to spend at the time I was shopping around for a complete Orbe/SME V combo, so auditioned a Van Den Hul Frog and an Ortofon MC7500 as well. The MC7500 really didn't do it for me, it was very nice but also lacked in detail, bite and general get-up-and-go compared to the Frog, so I saved myself £300 and went for the VDH instead. The Frog did actually retail at £1700 at the time, but it has now been drastically reduced to £1000 retail. The main reason I went for the Frog was that it was a slightly better tracker than the Rohmann on worn or slightly damaged second hand vinyl and also slightly quieter in terms of perceived surface noise on less than perfect vinyl.

 

Hi,

I use an Ortohon Jubilee cartridge. Excellent stuff. i have owned quite a few Ortofons over the years including Rohmann, MC30 Supreme, MC30, MC25FL, Kontrapunta A, etc.

ortofons are very good trackers overall and offer very good sound quality. The Rohmann is one to look at for sure. Good sense of detail and resolution with fine dynamics. This adds for a very enjoyable music experience. The Jubilee is a step up, IMO. It offfers better tracking fine detail and resolution. Ultra low surface noise. The drive and dynamics in the music is all there. It works well in the SME V I use. It handles battered and worn records very well.

Going to a Rohmann or a Jubilee, you will notice things like more definition on the Hi-hat cymbols, a lifting of a veil of the sound. Vocals will have more emotive qualities etc.

The Kontrapunt range is based on the Jubilee. They are a poor persons Jubilee. The kontrapunt B is one to look at.

The SME 309 is a scaled down version of the SME IV/V. You should be able to hear the difference between the cartridges. It's just that you should hear bigger differences with an even better arm. What turntable have you

The german site is a good place to buy but there is a bloke in Hong Kong who may have Ortofons for a even less. The downside is that you can't dem before buying.

You should be able to get a dem version from a good dealer. You will get a trade in with your old cartridge from a dealer but if buying from them, haggle a deal.


SCIDB

 

I've no intention of changing my arm guys, I've had the headshell replaced with a custom carbon fibre one and it sounds stunning, it really does. I dem'd the 309 against the V, and I thought the 309 was simply more enjoyable, the V was perhaps too analytical for my tastes (although I suspect the dealer may have set it up incorrectly ).

Thanks for the advice. I can get both the Ortofon and the van den Hul carts at trade. I just mentioned the price point as a roundabout guide to the kind of quality I'm looking for. The Rohmann seems like a possibility, although the tracking force may be an issue (I'm currently using 1.2g). How does it compare to similarly priced vdH carts (the Frog?). Reading the most recent HiFi+, I see that Mister vdH can actually tailor carts to suit a system...more food for thought.