User-driven innovation has now become much more dynamic due to internet. In Ortofon we realize that innovation can arise not only from within the company but also from outside by interaction with our customers.

In this newsletter we launch our first User driven innovation project - Replacement cartridges for turntables/tonearms. It is our ambition to establish an extensive database of turntables/tonearms with corresponding recommendations for a wide range of current Ortofon phono cartridges.

Replacement cartridges database is thought as an extensive resource of useful information and a user-driven tool. The present database comprises of approximately 1700 turntable/tonearm brands/models, most of them are going back to 1990-ies. 

The cornerstone for the database is laid, but we need more turntable/tonearms to be incorporated in the database. For this we ask for your help. At Ortofon we are very proud of our loyal customers and we think the best recommendations must be those that come from our experienced analogue lovers. For the future we are looking for implementing other user involvements projects.  

Replacement cartridges selector is a tangible and practical tool. To find the recommended Ortofon replacement cartridge for your turmtable/tonearm please follow the steps:

• Go to http://www.ortofon.com/support/replacement-cartridges
• Select your Turntable brand/Tonearm model in the left hand Search panel and click on Search bottom
• Recommended cartridges for the required selection are now visible in the right hand panel of our website. NB: the information in the Replacement Cartridges selector is thought to be accurate, but that we cannot be held responsible for incompatibilities.

Please send us your cartridges recommendations for turntables/tonearms, based on your personal experience with Ortofon cartridges. Your suggestions will be validated, and the Replacement Cartridges database will be extended with new matches. To send your recommendations please follow the steps:

• Go to http://www.ortofon.com/support/replacement-cartridges
• On the left hand Search panel click on Send your cartridge recommendations for turntable/tonearm here
• In the right hand panel fill in and send the e-mail form

We look forward to receive your input for the Replacement cartridges tool. 

The new Ortofon High-end headshell LH-10000 is an exceptionally high quality headshell made by high performance aluminium alloy with zinc as the primary alloying element. The Al alloy is strong, with strength comparable to many steels, has good fatigue strength and average machinability, but less resistance to corrosion than many other Al alloys.

LH-10000 is azimuth adjustable, which is beneficial for optimal channel separation. 

Additionally it features an easy-to-grab finger lift. 

The headshell is given a precision machined slit on the housing. A piece of Ortofon's special proprietary TPE (Thermo-Plastic Elastomer) compound with excellent damping properties is inserted into the slit. That same special proprietary TPE compound is applied to manufacture the Xpression bottom cover.  

LH-10000 is fitted with a set of the most sophisticated lead wires identical to Ortofon LW-800S, composed of pure silver and silver coated wire. Silver coated wire transmits the very clear high tone signals, which brings the brilliant tonality. 

The new headshell is perfect for a variety of high-end cartridges, including MC 90, MC Windfeld, Cadenza Series cartridges as well as the historical Jubilee and Kontrapunkt Series. The LH-10000 will be a perfect match to these Ortofon High-End cartridges and the Ortofon TA-110 tonearm. 

A - distance between centres of mounting holes
B - cartridge width
C - mounting holes diameter
D - cartridge length
E - distance from stylus tip to the centre of mounting holes
F - the height from stylus tip to top cartridge mounting surface

To see our astonishing Xpression video click here

The Absolute Sound 2010 Product of the Year Award goes to MC A90

Jonathan Valin has reviewed: ...Indeed this has to be one of the fastest, cleanest, quitest, most clearly focused cartridges I've heard... It is also one of of the highest-resolution cartridges I've auditioned... MC A90 is different enough, noble enough and outstanding enough to win The Absolute Sound High-End Cartridge of the year award.

Cadenza Mono in Ultraradio, March 2011 by Garrett Hongo

The Cadenza Mono is a lively, dynamic, superbly detailed transducer that can render monaural music with great tonal intensity. Best put to use with mid- to late-1960s high-fidelity mono LPs or contemporary reissue pressings of classic releases, it dug deep into the microgrooves of these records, tracked them with steady precision, and presented an intense tonal beauty and a dynamic explosiveness that, once heard, I found hard to do without. Listening to the cartridge was an audio awakening on the order of having heard a piece of music, once all too familiar, as if for the first time. At its price and proper application, the Cadenza Mono delivers excellent sound and very high value. Highly recommended.

SPU Collector box was reviewed by Art Dudley, Stereophile, April 2011

... Were I lucky enough to own such a set, I imagine I'd choose according to which record I wished to play  - or simply my mood at any given time or day... These Ortofons provide four different views of a very large and complex truth... the thoughtful listener would do well to hear, enjoy, and perhaps even own as many different samples as he or she can.