Ortofon - Concorde MKII Club - Turntable Cartridge

The best sound quality achievable for traditional vinyl playback!

A cartridge consists of three basic components: the stylus that traces the record groove, the cantilever, the part on which the stylus is mounted, and the generating system. The generating system converts the motion of stylus and the cantilever into electrical replicas of the sound, which can then be amplified and reproduced by the music system.

The Stylus
The stylus is the only part of the cartridge to make contact with the record. A force must be exerted by the tonearm to keep the stylus in the groove while the record is spinning. This tracking force is low, usually between three and four grams. But because the stylus has a “footprint” of less than one millionth of a square inch of the record face, it exerts a tremendous pressure: 6,000 pounds per square inch. At such enormous pressure, any roughness or irregularity in the stylus would cause record damage. The stylus must also be very hard or it will wear out quickly. For these reasons, quality styli are precision made from the finest and hardest material known: pure diamond. The Spherical stylus is for heavy back-cueing and scratching which helps it stay in the groove. the Special Elliptical stylus is for lighter back-cueing and scratching giving the best sound performance.

The Cantilever
The purpose of the cantilever is to act as an intermediate between the stylus and the generating system. Compared to its size the stylus moves at tremendous speed while tracking the groove of the spinning record. In order that the cantilever may accurately transmit the rapid stylus movements, it should be lightweight so it can respond without inertia to the twists and turns of the groove. At the same time the cantilever should be rigid, because any bending, flexing or vibration would add distortion and sound coloration. The necessary compromise between lightweight and high strength requires great ingenuity in the design as well as the choice of the materials.

The Generating System
High fidelity Ortofon cartridges follow the law of electromagnetism, discovered by the Danish scientist H.C.Oested. When material capable of conducting electricity (a copper coil) is set into motion perpendicular to a magnetic field - or when a magnet is moved near such conductive material – electrical current is generated in the circuit. The direction and speed of the movement determine the amplitude and frequency of the current. Thus the generating system of a cartridge converts to movement of the stylus and cantilever into an output signal.

The Concorde MKII Club boasts the best specifications and best sound, making it an ideal choice for Club DJs in any environment: studio, broadcast or club. The CLUB features a Special-Elliptic stylus that allows for detailed sound quality: This Special-Elliptic stylus fits better in the groove and therefore has more contact area with the groove itself, extracting more intricate details, than is possible with a spherical diamond.

The Club's 8mV output voltage requires less gain from the preamps, providing cleaner sound reproduction and less susceptibility to feedback in live environments.

The Club features a Special Elliptic Stylus that allows for detailed sound quality: The Special Elliptic stylus fits better in the groove and therefore has more contact area with the groove itself, extracting more intricate details than is possible with a Spherical diamond. The new shape of the stylus allows you to accurately drop the needle on a specific part of a record. The point of contact between the needle and record is very clear from any angle.

The Club is also recommended for digitalizing purpose: it provides optimal quality and extracts every last detail from vinyl when transferring vinyl to any digital storage media.

The new finger lift is another major improvement. It’s now stand alone replaceable with interchangeable parts, which is perfect to personalize the cartridge the way you want it.

Cartridge Types:

• CC Single
• CC Twin (2 Cartridges)