Ortofon MC20 Super cartridge

 

Higher Output Moving Coil Cartridge

This new cartridge incorporates the very latest developments to come out of our research laboratories and also employs the acclaimed van del Hul stylus shape in the MkII version

The Stylus

The special van del Hul  stylus chosen fro the MC20 Super, is an improvement of the original shape. In addition to providing excellent tracking capability, this new slim shape is more robust and places far less critical demands on the cartridge/headshell mounting.

The van del Hul shape is , in fact, the shape that most closely resembles the actual cutting sapphire.  The slim, highly polished profile of the stylus allows a wide contact area to the groove wall and permits:

Tracking of even the highest frequency groove information (especially in the innermost turns of the record groove)

Reduced record and stylus wear

Reduced distortion and phase error, as a result of the diamond's improved tracking geometry.

 

Aluminuim Housing

In order to gain the maximum benefit from this new diamond, it was necessary to construct an extremely rigid cartridge body that was virtually free from undesired resonances. We have achieved this by engineering the cartridge housing from extended aluminium profile, whilst ensuring that the cartridge weighs no more than 9 grams.

With this cartridge we have also achieved dynamic compliance of 16 µm/mN, which means that the MC20 Susper can be mounted in all medium to heavy mass tonearms.

 

Carbon Fibre Plate

By introducing a special carbon fibre plate to the bottom of the MC20 Super we have resolved the problem of static electricity that normally appears from records as small sparks on the projecting points of the cartridge's metal parts. This plate picks up the static electricity across the entire record surface and thus reduces these sparks considerably.

At the same time the charcoal fibre plate, which is made of very hard material, connects the basis of the moving system to the housing and this too prevents undesired resonances.

 

The Advances that made the MC20 Super possible

We have again broken new ground in the development of the MC20 Super, overcoming problems that previously seemed impossible.

In order for us to achieve a higher output voltage then normal, it was necessary to place more windings on the armature. Previous attempts at this have resulted in an increase in mass and therefore a loss of performance.

However, with the new MC20 Super we have been able to keep a low equivalent stylus tip mass of just 0,5 mg with the introduction of unique Ortofon developments.

The first, is a new armature which was originally designed for Ortofon's state of-the-art. Ortophase MC2000. this new armature has been designed as a tiny, lightweight cross, which allows the number of minute windings to be increased without affecting the performance of the moving mass. As a result, the cross sectional area of the windings is identical on both coils, thereby improving channel balance. And the coil are mounted at exactly 90 to each other improving channel separation.

To meet the higher output the basic magnetic system has also been re-designed to include a stronger magnet and more efficient pole pins thus keeping the necessary number of windings to a minimum. Furthermore, the entire magnetic system is glued to the cartridge body, giving greater rigidity and mechanical stability. This also prevents internal resonances which in turn permits cleaner high frequency response.

In order to exercise complete control over all the moving parts, particularly in the high frequency range where the properties of the diamond influence reproduction most we have incorporated the extremely stable Wide Range Damping system.

The advances that we made in linear phase technology on the Ortophase Concept have also been applied to the MC20 Super. The resulting linear phase and Frequency Response  characteristics ensure an extremely high standard of stereo reproduction.

 

Specifications

Weight:  9 gram

Type of Stylus:  Van den Hul model II nude

Stylus Tip Radius:  r/R 5/70 µm

Equivalent Stylus Tip Mass:  0,49 mg

Frequency Response:  20 - 40,000 Hz =4 -1 dB

Output Voltage at 1 kHz, (5 cm/sec):  >0,2 mV

Channel Balance at 1 kHz:  >1,0 dB

Channel Separation at 1 kHz: >25 dB

Channel Separation at 15 kHz: >19 dB

Dynamic Compliance, Horizontal/Vertical:  15/15 µm/mN

Vertical Tracking Angle:  20°

Recommended Tracking Force:  18 mN/1,8 g

Tracking Force Range:  16 - 20 mN; 1,6 - 2,0 g

Tracking Ability at 315 Hz (Lateral):  >80 µm

Internal Resistance:  3 Ω

Recommended Load Impedance:  ≥10 Ω

FIM Distortion: ≤0,8%