Головки звукоснимателя — Ortofon MC 90X MC

The MC 90X is a moving coil cartridge of low output from Ortofon of Denmark that builds on the MC A90, the model the company released for its 90th anniversary. It carries a list price of EUR 4,999 and combines a laser-melted stainless steel body with a boron cantilever and a Replicant 100 diamond.

Key specs that matter

Output is 0.25 mV at 1 kHz and 5 cm/sec, and Ortofon gives a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz within plus or minus 1 dB. Channel separation at 1 kHz exceeds 28 dB, with channel balance within 0.2 dB. The coil DC resistance is 4 ohm, and the recommended load resistance is above 10 ohm. Dynamic lateral compliance is 11 um/mN, and Ortofon recommends a downforce of 2.3 g. The cartridge weighs 9.5 g. The stylus tip has radii of 5 and 100 um.

Engineering and use context

The body is produced by Selective Laser Melting, a method that builds the stainless steel structure layer by layer and lets Ortofon shape it for rigidity and the chosen mass. Inside, a neodymium magnet system drives the generator, and the coils are wound with Aucurum wire, which is gold-plated OFC copper. A Field Stabilizing Element, a cylinder of conductive material within the magnet system, keeps the force fields stable as the armature moves, which Ortofon ties to better channel separation and lower distortion. Wide Range Damping places a platinum disc between two rubber absorbers, and newly developed rubber dampers are part of the suspension. The Replicant 100 diamond gets a special polishing process, and its fine profile has a large contact surface with the groove walls.

Pairing

With a quarter of a millivolt at the output, the MC 90X depends on an SUT or on an MC input with plenty of amplification. The low coil resistance suits transformers designed for very low impedance cartridges. The body weight and the moderate compliance call for an arm of medium effective mass whose counterweight covers this cartridge. The fairly high downforce also means the arm and its anti-skating scale should read accurately in that range. Because the output is so low, hum and noise in the phono cabling become more audible, so short, well-shielded interconnects from the arm to the stage are worth planning for.

Alternatives

The Ortofon MC A90 is the moving coil cartridge that preceded this model, released to mark the company's 90th anniversary.