To finish my recently acquired 1200M7L turntable, I decided to get this cartridge. It's specifically made for this anniversary model and I'm a Concorde collector. IMO, Concordes are the most elegantly designed cartridges ever. And it's the first "HiFi" Concorde of the second generation Concordes. At least, that's it in my opinion. It's marketed as a DJ cartridge, but at the same time it's explicitly stated that it's not suitable for back cueing and scratching - it's of no use to a DJ. Its strong focus on sound quality also makes this one more of a HiFi oriented cartridge. The stylus tip is a nude elliptical, so that's good, but not really fancy. So its price of 399 euros is very steep and might not be worth it if you're looking for the best bang for the buck. But if you want something special... well... I think it's worth it in that respect. Lets have a look at it's basic packaging: Just a simple box with some gilded decals. As we can see at the back of the box, its output voltage is 8.5mV That's fairly high - luckily I own a good phono preamp that's able to handle even more than that. The box is sealed with stickers bearing the Ortofon hologram. When taken off these will show "void" - this way you're sure to get a fresh cartridge with a fresh stylus... nice touch. The manual, a promo card and a rubber SME ring can be found under the cartridge. No fancy brushes. This is all there's to it. These have a removable finger lift, since this is the second generation Concordes. Finger lifts in various colors can be purchased separately. These finger lifts feel a lot more robust than those on the first generation Concordes. The cartridge comes in at a weight of 18.67 grams, which is fairly close to the specified 18.5g grams. As we can see here, the tracking force is 3 grams. To a lot of you HiFi guys out there it might sound like a lot, but it's actually quite normal for a DJ cartridge. The additional benefit of this is its 100um tracking ability. I've checked it using an Ortofon Test Record - yes, it actually plays all the way through all of the tracks with only minor distortion on the last one. The only other cartridge I've ever had that managed to do this was the Ortofon Serato S-120. Load is recommended at 150 to 400pF. I've set my phono preamp at 150pF, total cable capacitance is also about 150pF, so that makes 300pF total load. I installed it on my white SL-1200M7L that I already modified with a black tone arm. Despite it being designed to go with the golden tonearm, it does fit well with this black one too. The tip is 24k gold plated, so it's very shiny.... this might be an issue during cueing for the old fellows with bad eyesight (as a 30 years old, I have zero experience with that). My initial sonic impressions: The sound is quite different from what I expected. Less Ortofonish... less bright, a bit more behaved highs. Maybe even muddy in some respects, but not really in a bad way... it also seems to be "opening up" as I'm writing this. Dynamics are also becoming greater. While ellipticals only need very few hours of break-in, this one is certainly still breaking in. But it's not really warm like the OC9 cartridges from Audio Technica. It has a little bit accentuated bass, just like most of the Concordes. The soundstage has width, but only little depth - typical for MM cartridges. What really surprised me is that it's insensitive to noise, dust, static discharge... that kind of stuff. It's a bit less detailed than a fancy Microline, but you'll have great "noise immunity" - it's a trade off. Do take these initial impressions with a grain of salt, since the cartridge is still breaking in. I'll post an update some days later. Conclusion: Way overpriced for just a nude elliptical. If you're solely after the highest specs for the lowest amount of money, this isn't for you. If you want to add a unique MM cartridge to your collection, this might be just the thing you're looking for.
Nice write up! I do have that Ortofon Serato S-120, while not the most musical cart I have, it tracks like a MF
I often switch between cartridges to change the sound of my system and when I changed to a cartridge like that I sometimes forgot to turn the volume down.. even more so with the q.bert... comes down like a howitzer when you've just been running an OM20 or Pro S!
Really nice write-up! I would think there would be a market for an upscale Concorde for both the silver and black arms of the G and GAE. I would be interested in a black model that was stylish like this but geared for best performance even over the Century version. Hopefully they are thinking of doing that since Ortofon came out with this specifically for this limited series of Technics.
I also love Concordes - just got my first -a used DJ Pro-S. I mounted a 10 needle on it but am curious how the 30 sounds.
The Concorde Elite looks beautiful with its gold nose. However, I wonder why they chose to make a cartridge with nude elliptical stylus that tracks at 3g and is not a true DJ cartridge. Is there really a market for it? I have a couple of Hi-Fi Concordes and am a real fan of the STD, one of the original Hi-Fi Concordes that tracks at 2g. I think if they re-made this one, it would be a great alternative to the 2M Red and similarly priced cartridges. I suspect your Concorde Pro S with 10 stylus sounds the same as the OM10, which is good budget cartridge but not particularly remarkable. I would recommend the 20 stylus, which is a good step-up - the OM20 is one of my favourite cartridges. The 30 stylus would bring you more treble refinement and improved bass but in my experience it is more laid-back and doesn't have the excitement of the 20.
Interesting as I just consider Thakker R30 which seem to be based on older Concorde. Are those 20/30 stylus still made available or are they discontinued ?
The Thakker Concorde R30 is actually based on a new Concorde body coupled with the existing 30 stylus. The body is internally a 2M Blue. It seems that Ortofon make a special Concorde 10R for them but Thakker are spinning offer higher models by replacing the styli. So, the sound won't be the same as putting a 3o stylus on a Concorde Pro body, for example. The OM 20/30/40 styli are still widely available and I dare say still manufactured, as they provide an upgrade path for all those OM5E and OM10 cartridges out there that are used as stock cartridges on new turntables.
than Thanks for the info. Some background - this is a table that my 5 year old uses. She is very good at handling the tonearm but the inexpensive stylus makes it a low stress set-up. I'll check out the 30 - I tend to like laid back
My vintage M-44C output voltage is 9.5; the phono stage inside my vintage receiver never had a problem handling it.
Cool! It's definitely a worthy addition to my collection, but my dream cartridge would be the Ortofon Verismo. Maybe some day, if I win the lottery!
It is indeed S-shaped but not the same overhang as the DJ TTs, unfortunately. I've lusted after the Concorde series since I first lay eyes on /listened to them, not to the extent of replacing my TT, mind you.
I like it. I'll bet it is a sound I'd love. And if form should follow fiction, Ortofon really nailed it with this line.
Yes those OM20/30 styli are still available. Spare styli are often sold as STY20 or STY30 while the complete cartridge (headshell mounted, not the Concorde) is sold as OM20/OM30. KAB, a well known Technics oriented store in the US, also sells concordes with these styli. In this case they're paired with Reloop Black concordes, which are exactly the same as the Pro S Concordes, but just rebranded. The Pro S concordes aren't made anymore, only as rebranded ones like that Reloop.
Are the Reloop generators decent? Do they still provide the high output level even if used with OM20 etc? Or do they revert to 4.0mv like an OM20? Thanks for the tips!
Yes, they're literally the Pro S with a different paintjob. There's even "Ortofon Made in Denmark" text still on the bottom, since that's part of the original mould they still use to cast the outer shells! It's the stylus part that differs. Take into consideration that with a different sylus, the output voltage can change too, since the strength of the magnet isn't equal for all the OM/Concorde styli.
