opinions wanted on ortofon phono cartridges

Hello looking at new cartridge for the JVC turntable since the replacement stylus for the moving coil cartridge that is on it it now is $129 thought of just getting a whole new one, I've always used ortofon so I am leaning towards one of theirs, I'm not a DJ so no scratching or anything, was looking at the ortofon 2M red or 2M blue

red:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-2M- ... tegory=378

blue:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-2M- ... tegory=378

any one have any other choices or opinions??

Thanks all !

Without taking the time to compare every single spec, I've read good stuff about Grado cartridges - maybe the Red or Silver series.

I use the Ortofon "Arkiv" these are for recording from vinyl to digital. The recordings are great with these cartridges!

ford93 said:

I use the Ortofon "Arkiv" these are for recording from vinyl to digital. The recordings are great with these cartridges!

Click to expand...

do you use the concord style "arkiv" or the other one?

the JVC turntable I have has a straight tonearm that uses a "fixed" head shell but also has a curved tonearm with a quick release head shell (that it didn't come with) but it doesn't appear to be a "P mount" as in the end of the tonearm it has 4 male pins inside instead of 4 female, the head shell I have that came with my Phillips is a quick release but it has 4 male pins, any idea if a certain style of cartridge will mount directly into the JVC "S" shaped tonearm? think I read something about an integrated head shell but couldn't see any good pics of one.

this one looks reasonable is this the one you use:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-OM- ... tegory=485

Tony the one I use is the Concorde Arkiv for my Technics 1200's.

The one you posted works just the same as the Concorde Arkiv both have similar specs.

Fatdog said:

Without taking the time to compare every single spec, I've read good stuff about Grado cartridges - maybe the Red or Silver series.

Click to expand...

i agree.

a dj cartridge will sound excellent,but a cartridge made for listening to music over one made for turntablists will be much better.

bill said:

Fatdog said:

Without taking the time to compare every single spec, I've read good stuff about Grado cartridges - maybe the Red or Silver series.

Click to expand...

i agree.

a dj cartridge will sound excellent,but a cartridge made for listening to music over one made for turntablists will be much better.

Click to expand...

Bill the Arkiv series are more for digital recording they're not meant for back cueing.

You could also use them for playback and mixing same as the Grado which are great cartridges also.

I would have to read the specs on the Grados.

I see the 1200's and Stanton turntables have a tonearm where the head shell is easily removed, could you look at one of yours or tell me when you remove the head shell which side ( head shell or tone arm) has the female connectors? as I said the JVC came with a straight arm with non removable head shell but it also has a "S" shaped arm with removable head shell but I don't know if the 1200 style head shell would work in it or if the concord style cartridges would go right into the JVC arm, thanks

Let me see if I can explain this correctly on my Technics tone arm and headshell both have these four metal sort of tab looking objects not pins.

When attaching the headshell to the tone arm they make contact instead of one connecting with the other.

Unfortunately the Concorde won't work on your set up.

You're gonna have to do some researching or better yet buy a 1200.

that is the other thing I was thinking that there was no male/female just the 4 pins touch each other, so the concord style would most likely work on this tonearm?
Here are a few pics, not the best but you should be able to see what I am talking about:

also spoke to a sales guy at needledoctor.com and he told me the JVC "S" shaped arm is most likely the same style that the 1200 uses, I asked about the Arkiv cartridge and he said it isn't that great and I would do much better going with the ortofon 2M red or 2M blue. thanks

ok, so if I did get a concord type cartridge such as the arkiv and mounted it on the "S" arm that would eliminate basically all set up and adjustments, just attach the cartridge and change the arm done

or get a normal audiophile type cartridge and mount it on the straight arm do all the setup and adjustments, probably would sound better if it was setup correctly

decisions decisions !!! LOL

I've read that the higher-end Grado audiophile cartridges do not do well with the big central direct drive motor on the Technics 1200 and there is some kind of a slight, but noticeable noise problem.... Therefore, I've not bothered to try them. However, I don't think that same issue pertains to other direct-drive turntables. The 1200 has an unusually big motor with lots of torque compared to most.

I've often read in the Audiokarma and Tapeheads forums that pretty much all of the Grado sound either good or fantastic. And if their phono carts are anything like their headphones (which I do own) then you should not be worried, and especially if your turntable is a quality belt-drive unit.

From DJ'ing over the years I have 7 Ortofon and 4 Stanton headshell/cartridge combos in the house right now. I often bought replacements way before I needed to ... All sound pretty good, but the ones I play the most for DJ'ing now are my Stanton 680e's and the Ortofon Digitracks. For vinyl music recordings, I use the Ortofon Concorde. The one thing all my stylii have in common is that they are spherical in shape, which is best for DJ's who manhandle records on the platter. (as Juan mentioned).

For straight up music listening, I think whatever you get should have an eliptical shaped stylus. Why, you ask???? http://www.discjockey101.com/summer2007.html

Remember back in the day there were those wicked looking gold Audio Technica & Shure catridges that were all the rage... some even had little dust brushes in front of the stylus.

Personally, I'm thinking about selling many of my cartridges to fund the purchase of a set of Grados' new DJ cartridge that also has an eliptical stylus... I'd like to compare them to my stantons and best ortofons to hear if I can tell a difference...

You could take a chance on this old classic, too: [ebay]350263604697[/ebay]

Oh, and no matter what you do, you're going to have to fiddle with the adjustments. Each cart / headshell combo has different weight and maybe ride height. Fiddle you must, to get any of them to sound their best and not damage the records.

ahardb0dy said:

that is the other thing I was thinking that there was no male/female just the 4 pins touch each other, so the concord style would most likely work on this tonearm?
Here are a few pics, not the best but you should be able to see what I am talking about:

Click to expand...

Tony definitely yes the (Concorde Arkiv) will work with that tone arm!

Thanks for the replies, after talking to you about how the pins just touch each other and talking to the sales guy at needledoctor.com I realized the "S" shaped arm I have has the same mount as the 1200 uses. Yes I know I have to play around with the weight and the other settings on the turntable itself but with the concord style cartridge you just mount it in the arm right? doesn't it only go in one way? I was reading online from different sites about the pros and cons of using a straight arm vs a s shaped arm, they say for scratching straight is better but I don't plan on doing any scratching or back cueing, I'll just be listening to the records.

Still am looking at the ortofon 2M blue but if I wanted to use this cartridge it would be on the straight arm or I would have to buy a headshell to mount it on the S shaped arm.

on the other hand for the price the concord arkiv would mount right to the S shaped arm and comes with an extra stylus

I don't know more decisions,lol

JT do you mainly have/use the DJ line of ortofon cartridges? Oh my turntable is JVC direct drive

Ortofon 2M Blue Phono Cartridge Specifications:
# Output voltage at 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec: 5.5 mV
# Channel balance at 1 kHz: 1.5 dB
# Channel separation at 1 kHz: 25 dB
# Channel separation at 15 kHz: 15 dB
# Frequency range at - 3dB: 20-25.000 Hz
# Frequency response: 20-20.000 Hz + 2 / - 1 dB
# Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force: 80 µm
# Compliance, dynamic, lateral: 20 µm/mN
# Stylus type: Nude Elliptical
# Stylus tip radius: r/R 8/18 µm
# Tracking force range: 1,6-2,0g (16-20 mN)
# Tracking force, recommended: 1,8 g (18 mN)
# Tracking angle: 20°
# Internal impedance, DC resistance: 1,3 kOhm
# Internal inductance: 700 mH
# Recommended load resistance: 47 kOhm
# Recommended load capacitance: 150-300 pF
# Cartridge weight: 7.2 g

specs for ortofon arkiv:
Ortofon Arkiv Specifications
# Output at 1000Hz, 5cm/sec: 6mV
# Channel balance at 1kHz: 2dB
# Channel separation at 1kHz: 23dB
# Channel separation at 15kHz: 15dB
# Frequency range at 3dB: 20-22,000Hz
# Frequency response: 20-20,000Hz +/- 2dB
# Tracking ability at 315Hz: 80µm
# Compliance, dynamic, lateral: 9µm/mN
# Stylus: special elliptical
# Tip radius: r/R 13/25µm
# Tracking force range: 2-4g (20-40mN)
# Recommended tracking force: 3g (30mN)
# Tracking angle: 20 degrees
# Internal impedance, DC resistance: 750ohm
# Internal inductance: 450mH
# Recommended load resistance: 47k ohm
# Recommend load capacitance: 200-600pF
# Cartridge mass: 5g
# Internal impedance, DC resistance: 1,3 kOhm
# Internal inductance: 700 mH
# Recommended load resistance: 47 kOhm
# Recommended load capacitance: 150-300 pF
# Cartridge weight: 7.2 g

JT this is the turntable I have:

Tony the ball it's in your court.

I'm happy with the Concorde Arkiv, but you have to decide what suits you best.

The advantage of the Arkiv is that if you ever decide to buy a CD recorder and transfer your Vinyl to CD this is the cartridge to use.

Like I said before these can also be use for playback.

thanks Ford, I want to look into which one's I can find locally, I know I can get better prices online but this needs to be a cash deal and I think guitar center and sam ash both stock the ortofon DJ line, so I will most likely try the concord arkiv, I'm sure either one I pick will blow away the one I have now. Thanks again.

it's a shame, and I don't know how it happened but the JVC cartridge that was in the JVC TT was a moving coil type, I went to play a record to show Linda how the Sansui receiver sounded and it sounded like crap and after inspecting the cartridge I noticed the stylus was bent to the side than it broke off, it probably was the one that originally came with the JVC as the guy I bought it from bought the TT over seas when he was in the military, so it was more than a few years old, the manual says that this TT when sold in the USA did not come with a cartridge, The ortofon Lm10 I have on it now was on my old Phillips belt drive TT that I bought new back in the late 80's so it also is pretty old. Time for new technology !!!

Man, that's a beautiful deck! Awesome!

I see what you are asking about the corcord vs. a cartridge you mount to a headshell. Don't be afraid of that alignment process, just look closely at the angle your current cartridge has and try to match that for starters. If you get clean, even stereo during playback then you're close enough. Getting the downforce set properly is the fun part.

The Ortofon cartridges are cheaper than a Concorde. Any of the Ortofon products will do the trick for you, for sure... But, since you're not DJ'ing I would definitely hold out for an eliptical stylus.