Ortofon is a unique mixture of heritage and modern technology

Ortofon has a long history and a rich heritage, but the most important point is to have something to offer today’s consumer.

We preserve our heritage by continuously investing in technology and product development and thus introducing new cartridges. It is our philosophy that even a traditional product like the cartridge can benefit greatly from new technology and industrial competences.

New technology can take various forms. We now systematically use computer simulation when developing new cartridges, and we consider computer simulation to be a fantastic tool for the selection of components and the devising of the magnetic fields.

Secondly we also look at new technologies that are specifically product related, such as the recently developed Selective Laser Melting manufacturing technique (SLM), which is applied to our MC A90 and the new Ortofon Xpression cartridges, the bodies of which have an individual texture completely impervious to resonance.

During the SLM processfine particles of stainless steel are welded together, layer-by-layer, to construct a single piece body devoid of unnecessary material. Using this technique the density of the body can be precisely controlled, allowing for extremely high internal damping. The final result provides absolute freedom from resonances existing in the cartridge body material and allows for the cartridges to be perfectly matched with an extremely wide array of different tonearms.

The presentation of the Ortofon Xpression is a continuation of the new paradigm in engineering and manufacturing introduced by the MC A90. Because total freedom from resonance in the audible frequency range is a precondition for optimal sound quality, the design of the Xpression has been dictated by the complete elimination of unwanted resonance. Additionally, the bottom cover has been constructed from a special proprietary TPE (Thermo-Plastic Elastomer) material, which provides extremely high damping. 

Thirdly we use knowledge learned from other products (for instance our B2B products) in our cartridge development and manufacturing. Recently, Ortofon made a license agreement for the manufacturing of Conventional Bone Conductors for the hearing aid industry according to the BEST principle. A Bone Conductor is a product that requires a very high level of fine mechanical precision to obtain a uniform quality.

The industrial capacity of Ortofon is based on specially designed machines, that produce small precision components for our cartridges, that in turn have several advantages: we have the volume capacity and we can produce a large number of cartridges with a relatively short lead time.

By applying reproducable measuring techniques we achieve the uniform quality necessary for the industrial production.

Finally we have a portfolio of suppliers, with whom we exchange information, troubleshoot and solve problems, in order to constantly hone our skills and be able to address new challenges.

Our goal is to bring the cartridge in the forefront of the technology field, in regards to materials, design, magnetic systems and everything the cartridge comprises of.