Ortofon Launches New Range of Entry Level Moving Coil Models

In the world of vinyl playback, the cartridge is where the journey begins. A pivotal point where music rises from the groove and transforms into immersive soundscapes. With the MC X Series, Ortofon sets a new benchmark in MC cartridge design, pushing premium Moving Coil technology to unprecedented levels of performance.

Ortofon engineers started with a fresh sheet of paper and have worked hard to push performance standards. The foundation of the MC X models is a new honeycomb stainless-steel core to which the generator and housing attach. It is made using Metal Injection Moulding technology and reminds a little of the design used in Ortofon’s futuristic, multi-thousand-pound MC-90X moving-coil design. Each MC X cartridge features a newly developed magnet system and hand-wound coils made of ultra-thin, high-purity silver wire. Pricing is similar to the existing MC Quintet range.

There are four models, starting off with the X10, followed by X20, X30 and the top of the range model, the X40. They effectively differ by virtue of their cantilevers and stylus profiles, but all have the same output voltage at 0.4mV and all weigh 8.6g. Tracking force is similar for all at 2.0g. The first three models all feature an aluminium cantilevers with the X10 (Elliptical stylus), the X20 (Nude Elliptical), the X30 (Nude Fine Line) and finally the X40 which features a Boron cantilever and a Nude Shibata stylus.