New Ortofon SPU #1

[The Black Adder]

For those interested in SPU's. Here is a new one from Ortofon.

http://www.ortofon.com/spu-1-e-p-699-n-1579


(http://www.ortofon.com/spu-1-e-p-699-n-1579)http://www.ortofon.com/media/148390/spu-1-tilt.jpg?height=600

[daytona600]

My 1st SPU launched in may & under 500quid

[The Black Adder]

Ah.. ok. I've just got an email from Ortofon today so I thought I'd post it up.

[petrat]

Yes, I've been wondering about it/them.
Seem to be a bit of a 'throwback', with 2 ohm coils and 0.18mV output (matching the vintage specs).
May have fewer windings than the current GM/GE (6 ohm, 0.2mV) ... lighter moving parts, which might give a faster response?

[Barry]

Ortofon seem to be as confused with the market for their SPU cartridges, as Leica are with their cameras. I've lost count of the number of versions of the SPU Ortofon have introduced in the last five years or so, as I have with the different camera designs Leica have put out onto the market.

In the case of Leica, it is finding their way post the demise of film photography, but I'm not sure what is going on in the mind of Ortofon; they already have the widest range of cartridge designs of any cartridge manufacturer.

[montesquieu]

Yes, I've been wondering about it/them.
Seem to be a bit of a 'throwback', with 2 ohm coils and 0.18mV output (matching the vintage specs).
May have fewer windings than the current GM/GE (6 ohm, 0.2mV) ... lighter moving parts, which might give a faster response?

Compliance very slightly higher, but still very much in the low compliance camp and tracking at 4g. I don't think this would give its best on a standard Techie for example you'd still need a bit more mass. Should be good on a Jelco though.

Agree with Barry this is all very confused, hard to see what the USP is over the very slightly (by £100 or so) more expensive GM and GME MkII unless they plan to withdraw these. No apparent logic for the changes in impedance or output.

I did ask Ortofon what the differences were last time I was on at them for something and they said 'entry level' .. but clear as mud what they actually mean by that.

Of course it may be something as simple as they've slightly reduced the cost the manufacturing process, enough to maintain their margins at a lower price, and they've calculated they'll sell a few more if they hit an under-£500 price point.

[helma]

The new cheaper ones have bonded styli, I suppose that's the biggest difference or at least one of them.

[petrat]

Anyone using one, yet? At £300+ cheaper than the GM Mk2 equivalents, I'm rather curious if there's any significant difference in their performance.

[montesquieu]

Cheapskates here (like me) are waiting for the first second hand ones :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[drSM]

Would anyone know or have an opinion about how different the new SPU s are from the early SL15 ?

[1200reasons]

So what is an SPU? What makes it different from any other cartridge?

[Cas]

Having no experience whatsoever of these type of headshell/cartridges, what does SPU mean ?

[walpurgis]

what does SPU mean ?

Stereo pick-up!

[petrat]

Originally, it stood for Stereo PickUp ... one of the early moving coil cartridges at the dawn of stereo replay.
Inside the headshell, essentially they are no different to a normal moving coil pickup, although they have a relatively low output and low impedance, so need careful matching with a suitable phonostage.

[1200reasons]

Do they exist purely for nostalgia's sake? Is there anything inherent in their design that causes them to sound any different to other MCs?

[montesquieu]

Do they exist purely for nostalgia's sake? Is there anything inherent in their design that causes them to sound any different to other MCs?

Quality coils, a range of tip options depending how much you want to spend, fairly short cantilever and stiff suspension/low compliance ... so no, not really markedly different from some other cartridges around (the basic design goes back to the 1950s).

They do fall into a particular 'style' of presentation that Miyajima, Ikeda and others strive to emulate, and not a million miles from what Koetsu try to do too (though I generally prefer SPUs to Koetsus). They are known for their richness and punchiness, while the higher end ones with fancy tips and/or exotic coils also have exceptional resolution and really well articulated/fleshed out bass.

I run an SPU Royal N as a day to day cartridge alongside a Miyjima Madake, the Madake is a bit 'more' in all departments (like the Shilabe and Kansui that came before it) but I certainly don't feel short-changed listening to the SPU, it does everything I want it to do, and it does it very well. It's more of a character thing ... compared to some other cartridges they have a lot of life and excitement about them as well as a rich sense of tone colour - you either like that or you don't. Some prefer a more neutral, less fullsome/leaner, more 'hif' presentation (I think of my old Lyra Helicon when I write that) - personally I couldn't go back to that but whatever floats your boat.

Nothing nostalgic about them ... I just think that's how vinyl is supposed to sound!

[montesquieu]

Would anyone know or have an opinion about how different the new SPU s are from the early SL15 ?


SL15 is basically a variant of the SPU design made to have higher compliance, as was fashionable for quite a while (during which time the original SPU nearly died out). Works well on lighter tonearms at lower tracking weights than an SPU.

[Infinitely Baffled]

SPUs are a cartridge that interest me, but I have always been put off by the high tracking weights involved. Does anyone have a feel for how much additional pressure is exerted on the vinyl groove at 4gms VTF versus 2? Given the infinitessimally small contact patch that the pressure passes through, I would think it is quite high. I remember hearing many years ago a story (quite possibly apocryphal) to the effect that when playing a record, the vinyl momentarily reaches a molten state as it passes under the needle, and then solidifies soon after, and another that the groove wall remains susceptible to deformation by pressure for up to 24 hours after playing a record. Is there any evidence that using SPUs - or any other high VTF cartridges - cause higher levels of vinyl deterioration?
IB

[drSM]

Thank you Tom
I am looking into the SL15 that lurks in my old S15T

[anubisgrau]

Thank you Tom
I am looking into the SL15 that lurks in my old S15T

send it to thomas schick if you really want to know what it is capable of. no one deals with them with such an understanding of the original design.

SPU is by far the most successful line of products in history of vinyl reproduction aimed devices. no one else has a 7 decade long production with extremely coherent sound that's easy to recognize, from 60s to 2000s. beautiful devices, just beautiful.

i also don't think the line of contemporary products is that confusing as long as one is aware of different models for japanese and global market, as well as anniversary editions.

[montesquieu]

Thank you Tom
I am looking into the SL15 that lurks in my old S15T

Never managed to own one sadly ... I think it would go quite well on the AT arm on my Garrard 401!

[drSM]

Never managed to own one sadly ... I think it would go quite well on the AT arm on my Garrard 401!

i am impatiently waiting for les Monsieurs at Calamighty to get back to me as it needs a new cantilever n stylus
do u think it might work well in a jelco 750L? i guess it depends on what cantilever i settle on

[Cas]

Stereo pick-up!

Thank you, LOL, I really cannot see through abbreviations, no idea why, same as some cannot see anagrams I assume.

[Cas]

Originally, it stood for Stereo PickUp ... one of the early moving coil cartridges at the dawn of stereo replay.
Inside the headshell, essentially they are no different to a normal moving coil pickup, although they have a relatively low output and low impedance, so need careful matching with a suitable phonostage.

Thank you :)

[montesquieu]

i am impatiently waiting for les Monsieurs at Calamighty to get back to me as it needs a new cantilever n stylus
do u think it might work well in a jelco 750L? i guess it depends on what cantilever i settle on

No harm in trying but compliance is 25, much higher than the single figures for your average SPU so possibly not the best partner for a 12in arm. Great partner for a standard SPU (with the heavy counterweight).

I had great results from Cala with my re-tipped Miyajima 78 (they gave me a 1.0 tip with a bamboo cantilever) it sounds fantastic - I need to find time to do a write-up. Well worth the wait (3 months IIRC).

[Barry]

Do they exist purely for nostalgia's sake? Is there anything inherent in their design that causes them to sound any different to other MCs?

I don't think SPU enthusiasts choose the pickup out any sense of 'nostalgia', rather I think it more because of the sound quality, and perhaps, out of a sense of historical respect. Ortofon patented the moving-coil cartridge in 1948, and later in 1958, the first moving-coil stereo pick-up: the SPU. http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?4205-Manufacturers-Ortofon
Clearly the sound quality of any component in the replay chain is a matter of taste and personal preference; especially that of electromechanical transducers. Ortofon SPUs are typically characterised as having a wide response, and offer a 'romantic' or 'lush' presentation. Some complain the sound is 'syrupy' with a 'muddy' bass, but in every SPU I have heard, I do not recognise that criticism.

If there is an SPU sound, than it is also shared with the EMT designs, as well as early Koetsu 'Red' cartridges.

Mention has been made of the high 4.0g VTF required, but that figure applies only to SPUs fitted with a spherical stylus. For SPUs fitted with an elliptical stylus, the recommended VTF is 2g.

I love my SPUs (as well as their immediate successors: the S15TE, and SL15Es), but then I also love my EMT cartridges (as well as the Van den Hul modified Benz designs). At the moment I am using an Ortofon MC200, and am in no hurry to plug the SPU back in.

[walpurgis]

Some complain the sound is 'syrupy' with a 'muddy' bass, but in every SPU I have heard, I do not recognise that criticism.

I agree. I had an original sixties SPU and found the sound very open and musical. No lack of detail either, despite the conical tip. The sound was 'full and rich', but syrupy or muddy were not words I would use.

At the time I was torn between three cartridges. The Decca 4RC, ADC 10E Mk.IV and Ortofon SPU. They sounded very different, but I never could single out a favourite. Things stayed that way until I got my hands on a NOS Technics EPC-305MC, which outclassed them all (but not by a huge margin :)).