One for the Sussex Coast Members.

[Marco]

Have had a good number of the upper end 'modern era' Ortofons and never found them 'shiny' in my set up, 2M Black, Quintet Black, Cadenza Black.

Ok then, Ortofon fanboy.... Sure Rob, but it's all relative. Fit a vintage SPU (or a modern one, whose sound has remained as faithful as possible to that of the originals) in your set-up, and *in comparison*, you might get what I mean by "shiny"

Marco.

[Beobloke]

Yes, but you also raved about a 103, some years ago in an issue of HFW, when fitted to the high-mass stock arm of an Empire T/T, or have you forgotten?

Compare *that sound* you heard, particularly the bass end of things, with the intrinsic sonic presentation of an A90, and you should get what I like to hear from a cartridge, and indeed vinyl replay.

Marco.

No I haven’t forgotten the Empire and as I said, the 103 sounded even better in the stock arm on a Yamaha GT-2000

It’s just this still, for me, falls a little short of the presentation of one of Ortofon’s flagship modern cartridges like the A90. I personally think cartridges are one of the areas in hi-fi where modern really is better, hence why the cartridges I have are mostly modern designs.

[Marco]

Fair enough, then that's something we'll have to fundamentally disagree on. Although, if it's vintage, it has to be GOOD vintage. It's not just good 'cos it's old, and vice versa!

Marco.

[montesquieu]

No I haven’t forgotten the Empire and as I said, the 103 sounded even better in the stock arm on a Yamaha GT-2000

It’s just this still, for me, falls a little short of the presentation of one of Ortofon’s flagship modern cartridges like the A90. I personally think cartridges are one of the areas in hi-fi where modern really is better, hence why the cartridges I have are mostly modern designs.

Even for someone like myself that likes that full bodied, SPU-inspired, low compliance type of cartridge, for all their charms I have to admit that unless you are deliberately trying to evoke the atmosphere of a bygone era, the original SPUs can be bettered, either by newer rivals who have taken its 1950s principles and moved them forward (Miyajima is a classic case but also the AN Io fits into this category), or indeed by developments from Ortofon themselves as seen in the SPU 95th anniversary and SPU Century, and arguably somewhat earlier with the Royal and Royal N, Silver Meister and Spirit.

You need a heavy arm to play them though and while I enjoy other non-SPU Ortofons not least the Kontrapunkt range (I've owned Jubilee and Cadenza and rate both with the right SUT) they can come across slightly bloodless/a bit 'hifi' in a direct comparison. I haven't heard the A90 or A95, perhaps they chart a middle way but I'd be prepared to bet on them going in the opposite direction.

[RobbieGong]

Tom, whilst likely still SPU in character overall, there are quite a number of them.

How do the ones you've tried differ ?

Do you have a personal fave and if so why

Any chance of your thoughts Tom ? If not, no probs it's not important

[montesquieu]

Any chance of your thoughts Tom ? If not, no probs it's not important

Apologies, forgot to answer this one. My favorite (which I've owned three times now) is probably the Royal N (non-SPU headshell version of the SPU Royal). Like all SPUs it needs the right (very heavy) arm - heavy enough to keep things under control and keep the music flowing. Most medium mass arms won't cut it. The Replicant 100 (Geiger S) stylus and slightly unusual impedance - 6 ohm, compared to 2-3 ohm for a lot of classic SPUs, no doubt as a result of the gold coils - give it a bit of a different flavour and there's no doubt it's harder to set up than any other SPU I'm aware of and also a bit different to the norm in terms of head amp or SUT settings as well. You can't just slap it in. But I love its combination of lushness and detail. Being free of the usual Ortofon headshell you also have the option of different mounting methods and this can make a difference too.

I'm also a fan of the ellipticals, be they vintage GE or some of the modern ones. The ultimate example I've heard of this is Petrat's titanium SPU 95. For me this is the classic SPU sound.

Having said that the sphericals can be fun too, even the very cheap SPU #1S is very bold, bouncy and 'right' sounding (if less detailed than the ellipticals) I'm looking forward to hearing the SPU Wood which is a rather special spherical in an A (rather than G) type headshell, with an urushi lacquer finish.

[RobbieGong]

Apologies, forgot to answer this one. My favorite (which I've owned three times now) is probably the Royal N (non-SPU headshell version of the SPU Royal). Like all SPUs it needs the right (very heavy) arm - heavy enough to keep things under control and keep the music flowing. Most medium mass arms won't cut it. The Replicant 100 (Geiger S) stylus and slightly unusual impedance - 6 ohm, compared to 2-3 ohm for a lot of classic SPUs, no doubt as a result of the gold coils - give it a bit of a different flavour and there's no doubt it's harder to set up than any other SPU I'm aware of and also a bit different to the norm in terms of head amp or SUT settings as well. You can't just slap it in. But I love its combination of lushness and detail. Being free of the usual Ortofon headshell you also have the option of different mounting methods and this can make a difference too.

I'm also a fan of the ellipticals, be they vintage GE or some of the modern ones. The ultimate example I've heard of this is Petrat's titanium SPU 95. For me this is the classic SPU sound.

Having said that the sphericals can be fun too, even the very cheap SPU #1S is very bold, bouncy and 'right' sounding (if less detailed than the ellipticals) I'm looking forward to hearing the SPU Wood which is a rather special spherical in an A (rather than G) type headshell, with an urushi lacquer finish.

Thanks Tom, much appreciated, especially with my limited knowledge of SPU's