All
Ortofon
Website:https://ortofon.com/
Est. year: 1918
Location: Denmark
Ortofon is a Danish maker of phono cartridges and styli, founded in Copenhagen on 9 October 1918 by engineers Axel Petersen and Arnold Poulsen. It started as the Electrical Phono Film Company, working on synchronising sound with film, and describes itself as the world's largest producer of magnetic cartridges, selling around 500,000 a year. DJs account for roughly three quarters of those sales, with hi-fi listeners making up the rest.
Range & what it's known for
Ortofon built its first cutting head in 1945 and introduced the AB moving coil cartridge in 1948. The SPU arrived in 1959 and continues in versions such as the SPU Meister and the SPU 95th Anniversary. Moving magnet designs followed from 1969, when the M-15 introduced the patented Variable Magnetic Shunt system. The OM series from 1981 offers interchangeable styli at budget prices, the Concorde from 1979 targets DJs and was redesigned in 2018, and the 2M moving magnet series appeared in 2007. Higher up sit moving coil models including the Quintet and Cadenza ranges, the MC A90 from the 90th anniversary in 2008 and the MC Century, limited to 100 units for the centenary in 2018.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company was renamed FonoFilm Industry A/S in 1946, and Ortofon A/S was set up as its trading subsidiary in 1947. Private investors acquired the business in 2004. Cartridges are made at the factory in Nakskov on Lolland in southern Denmark, where acoustics and technology chief Leif Johannsen leads development. Since 2010 the Ortofon Microtech arm has also produced precision rubber and TPE parts for hearing aids.
The lineup in this catalog
Phono cartridges across several series. An OM model costs about USD 50, while the top moving coil designs go well beyond USD 5,000.
Who it's for
Ortofon fits vinyl listeners and DJs at almost any budget. A first turntable upgrade can start with an OM or 2M Red, the 2M line steps up through its styli, and moving coil buyers can move from the Quintet to the Cadenza and on to the SPU and anniversary models.
Range & what it's known for
Ortofon built its first cutting head in 1945 and introduced the AB moving coil cartridge in 1948. The SPU arrived in 1959 and continues in versions such as the SPU Meister and the SPU 95th Anniversary. Moving magnet designs followed from 1969, when the M-15 introduced the patented Variable Magnetic Shunt system. The OM series from 1981 offers interchangeable styli at budget prices, the Concorde from 1979 targets DJs and was redesigned in 2018, and the 2M moving magnet series appeared in 2007. Higher up sit moving coil models including the Quintet and Cadenza ranges, the MC A90 from the 90th anniversary in 2008 and the MC Century, limited to 100 units for the centenary in 2018.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company was renamed FonoFilm Industry A/S in 1946, and Ortofon A/S was set up as its trading subsidiary in 1947. Private investors acquired the business in 2004. Cartridges are made at the factory in Nakskov on Lolland in southern Denmark, where acoustics and technology chief Leif Johannsen leads development. Since 2010 the Ortofon Microtech arm has also produced precision rubber and TPE parts for hearing aids.
The lineup in this catalog
Phono cartridges across several series. An OM model costs about USD 50, while the top moving coil designs go well beyond USD 5,000.
Who it's for
Ortofon fits vinyl listeners and DJs at almost any budget. A first turntable upgrade can start with an OM or 2M Red, the 2M line steps up through its styli, and moving coil buyers can move from the Quintet to the Cadenza and on to the SPU and anniversary models.
