Ortofon SPU Spirit

[fordy]

Cross posted from the wam because I know there are a few SPU fanciers on here...

So here we have a brand new SPU. I’ve been trying to chase one of these down for weeks now and finally got lucky today so I’m over the moon. This is the Ortofon SPU Spirit, a limited edition of 500 Japan only SPU’s. Allegedly it’s a close recreation of the SPU Meister from the 90’s which was one of the best and most sought after of this long line of cartridges. I believe its USP was that it had 7N copper coils. That cart was released to celebrate 50 years of Mr SPU (Gudmandsen) working for Ortofon. That’s the inspiration for the new model anyway.

The Spirit is wound with 8N copper coils this time around, a first in the SPU series and believed to be why it’s a limited model because it’s expensive and difficult to get hold of for series production. It uses an ali cantilever and an elliptical stylus and, like all the modern SPU’s, uses the ground wood/ resin body. Output is a healthy (for an SPU) 0.32mV.

Price wise it was a bit of a bargain for a limited model, priced below a Meister Silver in Japan.

I’ve been immensely enjoying an SPU Royal GM mk II in recent months so it will be interesting to see how it compares. The Royal is almost faultless in its presentation and one of my favourite cartridges (out of the many, many I’ve tried). Detailed and extended with a liquid mid-range. Beautiful thing it is. It is a trifle difficult to set up though due to the finicky Replicant 100 stylus which has to be absolutely spot on to perform at its best. It takes ages to dial-in.

Anyway I won’t get to listen to the Spirit until after Christmas now as I’ve only just rotated a Phasetech P3 in a few days ago and I’ll be on my way back to the UK next week. I’ll update with my thoughts in due course.

Most of these sold out in Japan quite quickly (it only launched a month ago) but there are some still about. When you realise you want one of these, lobby Jack (BD Audio) because you never know, he may be able to help.





Some links...
http://www.ortofon.com/products/hist...ts/spu-meister
http://translate.google.co.uk/transl...=0CFsQ7gEwCDge

[Thermionic Idler]

That does look most toothsome I must say!

[fordy]

That does look most toothsome I must say!

What can you tell us about your SPU 90th Anniversary? Especially compared to anything else you have used. Spec wise the Spirit and the 90th are pretty close I think.

[Magna Audio]

They're pretty.
I am favouring my Silver Meister at the moment.

[Marco]

Hi Carl,

So here we have a brand new SPU. I’ve been trying to chase one of these down for weeks now and finally got lucky today so I’m over the moon. This is the Ortofon SPU Spirit, a limited edition of 500 Japan only SPU’s. Allegedly it’s a close recreation of the SPU Meister from the 90’s which was one of the best and most sought after of this long line of cartridges. I believe its USP was that it had 7N copper coils. That cart was released to celebrate 50 years of Mr SPU (Gudmandsen) working for Ortofon. That’s the inspiration for the new model anyway.

Nice one, matey, and thanks for sharing your thoughts about your new SPU, and the superb pictures of it with us. It looks fab, but then as an SPU owner myself, I'm biased towards their vintage looks!

Is that an SP10 you're using it with?

The Spirit is wound with 8N copper coils this time around, a first in the SPU series and believed to be why it’s a limited model because it’s expensive and difficult to get hold of for series production. It uses an ali cantilever and an elliptical stylus and, like all the modern SPU’s, uses the ground wood/ resin body. Output is a healthy (for an SPU) 0.32mV.

So, in essence, it's a kind of marriage between a Synergy and a Silver Meister, but without the silver wiring of the latter? Interesting.

Price wise it was a bit of a bargain for a limited model, priced below a Meister Silver in Japan.

So how much did it set you back? Go on, spill the beans!

I’ve been immensely enjoying an SPU Royal GM mk II in recent months so it will be interesting to see how it compares. The Royal is almost faultless in its presentation and one of my favourite cartridges (out of the many, many I’ve tried). Detailed and extended with a liquid mid-range. Beautiful thing it is. It is a trifle difficult to set up though due to the finicky Replicant 100 stylus which has to be absolutely spot on to perform at its best. It takes ages to dial-in.

I completely agree on all counts! Having just recently bought a brand new Royal GM MKII, I've experienced the very same things you have

When you get it right, the sound it produces (particularly in conjunction with Ortofon's own RS-212D tonearm and ST-80SE SUT) is utterly beguiling and quite unlike any other high-end MC cartridge I've heard, as it somehow manages to combine the 'polish', high-frequency detail and finesse of the more mainstream top MCs (from Benz, Lyra, Shelter, Dynavector, etc), with the traditional addictive musicality and phenomenal 'dynamic projection' of the SPU, and without any hint of the sound becoming cold or clinical, or possessing a false treble emphasis, as indeed can be the case with many modern MCs.

However, like you rightly say, the Replicant stylus, stunning sounding as it is, is an ABSOLUTE ball-ache to 'dial in' accurately, as any minute error in VTA, azimuth or VTF is showcased in all its glory. It's taken me several weeks of tweaking to get it right, but the effort has most certainly paid off, as I'm hearing musical information in my record collection that I've never heard before, or with such spine-tingling clarity, due to the profile of the stylus near-mirroring that of a cutting lathe. The Replicant stylus on the SPU Royal GM MKII really pulls musical information out of the grooves like nothing else I've heard.

Quite frankly, it makes all other SPUs I've owned (Classic GM and GM E), excellent though they were, sound broken in comparison. I'd also heard it said that, as you go up the range, SPUs become progressively 'un-SPU' like, based on the sound of the originals, and I was slightly concerned that in going for the Royal GM MKII, I'd be sacrificing some 'soul' and 'boogie factor' for rather prosaic values, such as 'hi-fi accuracy'.

Turns out I needn't have worried, as from experience now I can confirm that what happens, in actuality, when going up the range, is that all the traditional (and highly desirable) sonic traits of the SPU are retained, but the sound simply becomes more 'correct', through a significant decrease in audible (and no doubt, measurable) distortion, especially at end of album sides, compared to SPUs fitted with conical or elliptical styli.

Furthermore, the extended high-frequency response of the Royal GM (60,000Hz) acts rather like adding a super-tweeter does to a pair of speakers, in that not only does it add more 'sparkle' to the overall sound and highlight filigree detail in recordings, but for some reason (even though this is not borne out in the measurements quoted), bass seems to go much deeper, which underpins music with real gravitas, something which can sometimes be lacking in the 'lesser' SPUs, when compared with other high-end MCs. That effect was highlighted to me when I A/B'd my previous Classic GM E against a friend's Transfiguration Orpheus.

What the Royal GM MKII does is add 'audiophile accuracy' to what has always been first and foremost a music-lover's cartridge, and to do that for £1500, producing such superb, musically believable and addictive sound in the process, is frankly remarkable... This cartridge is so good that I don't foresee me ever needing to upgrade from it – in fact, I'm struggling to see how that would be possible!

Anyway I won’t get to listen to the Spirit until after Christmas now as I’ve only just rotated a Phasetech P3 in a few days ago and I’ll be on my way back to the UK next week. I’ll update with my thoughts in due course.

I'd be very interested in the comparison between the Spirit and your Royal GM MKII, when you get a chance to do it, so please share your thoughts and pics with us when the time comes!

Marco.

[Barry]

Interesting news Carl.

Certainly Ortofon seem to be 'milking' Gudmansen's design for all they can.

Personally I can't see replacing the 7N copper widings for ones made from 8N copper, that is reducing the impurities from 0.1ppm to 0.01ppm, will make the slightest difference.

Of far more importance, in my opinion, is the design of the stylus and cantilever. Interesting that Ortofon have not considered using an alternative to an aluminium cantilever, for example boron.

Regards

[Marco]

Of far more importance, in my opinion, is the design of the stylus and cantilever. Interesting that Ortofon have not considered using an alternative to an aluminium cantilever, for example boron.

Indeed, especially in reference to your last sentence. I guess it's largely to keep costs down to an acceptable level, as the SPU models have always been priced more, erm, 'realistically' than the other top cartridges in Ortofon's product range - and I have my own theories as to why that is

£5k for an 'MC Anna'? You're 'avin a larf!!

Marco.

[fordy]

Yes Marco, it's on an SP10 in a Jelco SA-750lb arm with the heavy counterweight.

Specwise it looks closest to the Silver Meister of current production. I gathered a few SPU specs together for aficionados delectation!

[Thermionic Idler]

What can you tell us about your SPU 90th Anniversary? Especially compared to anything else you have used. Spec wise the Spirit and the 90th are pretty close I think.

It's taken me a couple of attempts to write a reply to this as I have an idea of what constitutes good sound for me, but I'm a bit hopeless at articulating it.

The 90th A. is the only SPU I've actually heard, so I don't know how it compares to other SPU's in the range. But I find it a very rich and engaging performer, it draws me into the music like no other MC cartridge I've owned, yet is still neutral, I don't find that it colours the music in any way.

Years ago I had to give up on a modded Grado that I loved the sound of because of the damned bass-driver-wrecking Grado wobble/dance/hop/call-it-what-you-will (and yes the compliance/mass was properly matched before you ask). I went down the MC route but no MC I used communicated the music quite so well, until I got the SPU which did it better!

I certainly prefer it to the Ortofon Jubilee that I had before, the Jubilee is a very capable cartridge but a lot of the time I felt like I was listening to CD. For me the Jubilee was a good reproducer but the SPU plays music.

That said I recently heard a Cadenza Black on a deck similar to mine with an SME V12 arm and it seems to me that Ortofon have managed to infuse their Cadenza range with some of the SPU's musical magic.

But you'll have to prize the SPU out of my cold, dead hands. Its musical presentation plus the plug-and-play installation (no faffing about with protractors and cartridge mounting screws) plus the fact that as far as I'm concerned it's the best damn looking cartridge ever made (apart, maybe, from the SPU type A pickup head) seals the deal for me.

[Marco]

Thanks for the spec chart, Carl - always handy as a reference!

The 90th A. is the only SPU I've actually heard, so I don't know how it compares to other SPU's in the range. But I find it a very rich and engaging performer, it draws me into the music like no other MC cartridge I've owned, yet is still neutral, I don't find that it colours the music in any way.

Spot on, Dave. That is the essence of the SPU sound

Marco.