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Thread: New arrival - budget Ortofon SPU #1

  1. #1
    montesquieu Guest

    Default New arrival - budget Ortofon SPU #1

    I was running a 1960s vintage SPU GE on my Garrard 401 recently, till Adam (Westlower) borrowed it for this own 401/SME 3012 project .. unsurprisingly it was such a nice fit in his setup that it ended up not coming home again.

    The question for me was what to replace it with ... I've been intrigued by the SPU #1 since it was announced about 18 months ago. There are spherical and eliptical versions, using bonded styli rather than the nude styli of the higher up models at getting on for twice the price, but as far as I can make out, there are few other significant differences, possibly in the coils though the specs are pretty mainstream for SPU.

    Of course it's not that long since the GM MkII models (formerly entry level but now intermediate between the #1 and the fancy top end SPUs) were down in this sort of price range, but they have been steadily drifting up to the 1000 Euro mark. Vintage SPU prices have been heading steadily upwards as well, but not yet as such a steep rate - to my thinking the GM MkII are being priced out of contention, why pay this sort of money when a vintage Alnico model probably sounds better and can still be had for less? In this context the SPU#1 would seem to be a sensible move by Ortofon, while the repositioning of the GM range looks more than a bit cynical.

    Anyway, I took the plunge ... Deco Audio had one in stock and it arrived this morning in time for some New Year fun. I went for the spherical as the other SPU I have at the moment - a Royal N - has the Replicant stylus which as I understand it is a fancy eliptical, while the Miyajima Madake is a Shibata. I do like spherical styli generally as often you gain musicality in return for often what is only quite a modest loss of detail compared to fancier profiles, while they are also pretty kind to the groove even at high VTF settings, but although I have several spherical MMs, I didn't have one on an MC until this arrived.

    First impressions - bit stiff out of the box (as you'd expect) but took only 3-4 sides to improve considerably. By now, a few more sides in, it sounds just like an SPU should - big and bold and musical, free and easy at the high frequencies, punchy and dimensional in the mids, and although the bass is still a tad stiff, I would expect that to continue to improve. It tracks like a train (as you'd expect from a propely set up low compliance cartrige at 4g in a heavy arm).

    Seems to be a good match with the high mass AT1503 I'm running on the Garrard, though it does seem to ride a lot lower in the groove at the recommended 4g compared to the Royal N, so there may possibly be some suspension differences between it and the higher up models. Compliance is slighly higher at 10um vs 8 for the Royal N but that may well suit many arms out there, certainly I would expect this to work nicely on a Jelco 750D so long as it had the heavy counterweight.

    Proper critical listening and comparison to the Royal N (which lists at between three and four times the price) to follow once it's got a few more sides under its belt. But right at the moment with Louis Armstrong from the 60s playing it's sounding rather promising, tonally spot on with a nice 3D soundstage.




  2. #2
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Looks fab, Tom. Your Bobs device should be with you Tuesday. It's RM guaranteed delivery. I'll send you the tracking if needed.

    Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    montesquieu Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigman80 View Post
    Looks fab, Tom. Your Bobs device should be with you Tuesday. It's RM guaranteed delivery. I'll send you the tracking if needed.

    Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk
    Arrived this morning Oliver I was about to message you and let you know.

  4. #4
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Sweet!!!!

    Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    montesquieu Guest

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    Couple of SUT experiments ...

    Output on the #1 is 2 ohm and it sounds pretty fab on the input labelled 3 ohm on the EAR912 (which I gather is x30).

    That got me thinking so I dug out the little Ortofon 2-15k step-up 'dongle' type I got from Barry a while back (also 1:30 I believe), designed for 2 ohm cartridges from the original SPU/SL15 era. It sounds superb with it - not quite as detailed, spatious or refined as the EAR but very lively, tonally accurate and really quite 'right' (indeed it gives it something of a vintage SPU feel). Very enjoyable. This is what I'll be running it into once the Garrard goes back in the study. So all doubt removed - the #1 is a proper SPU!

    Interestingly I tried it with the Bob's Devices Cinemag SUT I got from from Jake Recently, this offers 1:10 and 1:20 .. even on 1:20 (which is the ratio on this ideally suited for a Denon 103) it sounded a bit flat and lifeless .. I guess for all its qualities with other cartridges, 2 ohm is somewhat out of its comfort zone.

  6. #6
    Join Date: Aug 2010

    Location: Hannover, Germany

    Posts: 54
    I'm Knut.

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    Hi Tom,
    good choice with your SPU #1. All my SPU's with 2 Ohms show very good results with step ups with 1:40 ore more. The Hashimoto HM-3 and the Fidelity research XF-1L are the best for me.
    Regards

    Knut
    Knut.

    Acoustic Signature Thunder & Final Tool, Technics SP15, Ampearl RE1030 Valve Phono, Ampearl Valve phono LCR RE2030, Ampearl RE1031, Tribute SUT, Aidas MC, Linn Akiva, DS Audio E1, Nagra VPS
    Legat Audio SETA E130L SE, Legat KT88 SE , K&T Donar, JE Labs Open baffle with Philips 12202, BK elec SUBs P12 & XXls400

  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Bridgend, Wales

    Posts: 171
    I'm James.

    Default

    Nice review Tom!

    I'm using my #1E into an Ortofon ST-7 SUT into a Croft RIAA phono stage. After about 20 hours of use it really opened up and now sounds very full and generous, clear and open at the top and the bass just improves with every side. Very impressed with it, my Spacedeck / Decca combo is getting notably less use these days!
    Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck / Kuzma Stogi S / Benz Micro Ace S L
    Lenco L-75 / Carl Ellis Plinth / Ortofon AS-212 / Ortofon SPU Classic GM E MkII
    Ortofon ST-7 SUT / Nick G Modded Lentek Head Amp / Croft RIAA

    Cambridge Audio CXU / Theta DS Pro Prime

    Classé Model 30 / Luxman M-383

    Usher Compass X-719


    May contain opinions that others find disturbing.

  8. #8
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Norwich

    Posts: 2,814
    I'm Hugo.

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    I may have to try one of these myself! My Paul Hynes MC2 head amp is as quiet as a tomb and has variable loading so I'm sure it will be possible to zoom in on the optimum settings.

  9. #9
    montesquieu Guest

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    I think you probably do need to try this Hugo, it's rather good. I wouldn't quite put it up there with a good Alnico vintage SPU but it's not as far off as you'd expect and I suspect the audible difference to the current production GM and GE models (both of which I've owned in the past) is minimal, though being bonded I guess stylus life might be shorter.

    About 25 or so sides - maybe 10 hours so still a bit of running in to go - it's sweenend out nicely, the bass has loosened up well and its way with ambience and timbre has further improved too. The differences with the Royal N remain quite apparent in its way with detail and texture but you'd expect that from something a third of the price of what is quite a 'special' cartridge with its replicant tip and gold coils. I suspect if it's detail you want though the eliptical version (SPU #1E rather than the #1S that I've been playing with) might be a better bet, yet the #1S has a lovely character.

    It seems to me this cartridge is really worthy of consideration, especially when you consider what the competition is at sub-£500. For example it certainly sounds more accomplished and well rounded to me than any Denon 103 that I've heard, even the fancy or modded ones, to say nothing of some of the other 'budget' MCs from the likes of Goldring or Sumiko.

    You need a the right arm of course and phono input capable of handling 2 ohms / 0.2 mv but put that in place and it opens up the world of the SPU with lots of upgrade potential in future.

    As you can gather, it's a hit!

  10. #10
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Barnet, london UK

    Posts: 2,146
    I'm Adam.

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    Very well written SPU posts Tom.
    "lack of passion is fatal"


    Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!

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