Ortofon MC A90 cartridge

12-24-09: Lewm
Do you guys think that the 47-ohm load would also be optimal for the MC7500, given the familial relationship among the MC7500, Windfield, and MCA90 cartridges? I like the MC7500 at 100 ohms very much. If I would critique it I would say that it is slightly "dry" sounding, gives lots of inner detail but maybe not so much in the way of "goosebumps". On the other hand, I came to it from years of listening to my Koetsu Urushi, so you could say I had been conditioned to a different sound that is anything but "dry".

Anything is possible but, going by the specifications, the MC7500 doesn't appear that similar to the Windfield/A90.
The MC7500 has very low output of 0.13mv and a 6ohm DCR (compared to 0.3mV and 4ohms). Clearly it has different electrical properties.
However since phono input loading *may* have more to do with damping the ultrasonic resonance peak (per Jcarr) - and how the phono amp deals (or doesn't) with this peak - it may be worth a try.

FWIW, there seems to be no consensus on loading for the Windfeld. A search here on Audiogon shows some people swear by 500-1Kohms - others say load below 100ohms. Unfortunately there appears to be no specific 'right' value that can be applied across all systems - but I think we already covered that above.

OK, just mounted the 2nd Ortofon MC A90 cartridge (ser# 079) on the Dobbins Technics SP-10 Mk3 with Reed 'L' arm playing thru the Allnic H3000. previously i had briefly mounted my first A90 (ser# 008) so it's not the first time on the Technics. right out of the box it's pretty nice. i'm listening to 'For Duke', which can be a bit 'bright' and forward when things are not right. it's behaving and the cymbles are 'right', the Trumpet 'blat' is alive but not edgy. more info and energy than from the Garrard/Triplaner on first impressions, with a larger soundstage. 12" arm?

a bit closed in but i'm excited to finally, after 2 years, have three tt's set-up with similar level cartridges at the same time. i've been listening to many hours of vinyl recently on the Rockport and Garrard.....so my reference is pretty good. the Technics/Reed is really a lively combination. the music leaps from the grooves.

more later.

"the Technics/Reed is really a lively combination. the music leaps from the grooves "

Thanks Mike for your promise on following up the test .
i will try the reed arm on my SP10 mk2 soon.

Cheers
LD

Mike&Ldvale, There are 3 Reed 'series': Reed L, Reed L 2A
and Reed L 2P. I owned Reed L but bought also Reed L 2 A (12"). A perfect combo with my Phase Tech P-3G. BTW one very underrated cart. Despite the producer description I think that they have different eff. mass. I.e. my Reed L was 17 gr.; the Reed 2A is 29 gr.
Are you using 'the' Reed L or some of the other 'versions'?

Regards,

Dear Nandric.
I use the Reed with ZYX airy3 . this combo sound great .
Cheers
ldvalve

http://www.turntables.lt/features.html#Tonearm_Reed2A
According to this website the Reed 2A (12") has an effective mass of 16 gr.

Montepilot,quod erat demonstrandum: the 'series' 2A and 2P
have different 'headshell' with Azimuth adjustment (= more
weight). Besides there are 6 different wood-kinds for the
Armwand implicating diff. mass. I emailed to Vidmantas from
'turntables.lt' to revise the 'futures' because this info is very important for the choice of the 'armkind' as well as the woodkind.
Ldvalve,Glad to hear that you are happy with your combo. I
assume that your answer is implicated 'in' your cart. I.e.
Reed L and not 2A or 2P. BTW I prefer my combo Reed 2A +
Phase Tech P-3G above my other combo: Trplanar VII + Benz
Ruby 3s.
Regards,

further impressions of the Technics SP-10 Mk3--Reed 'L' 12" with the A90......as compared to the Garrard--Triplaner--A90. about 6-7 hours. dialed in more, running 2.27 grams and slightly up in the rear.

the Technics/Reed has a wonderful tonality, energy and spaciousness that the Garrard cannot match (although the Garrard-Triplaner is no slouch in these areas). as i mentioned, the music has a tension and sense of live-ness that leaps from the grooves. unlike the Garrard-Triplaner, there is no 'added' rounded pulse to the bass, but the bass is quite a bit more impactful and has more 'pop' and 'jump'. the noise floor is lower and so there is more detail and ambient retreival.

the Garrard still has it's own sexiness which is different; but i think the Garrard with a Reed/A90 might be quite the deal.....adding the greater tonality and spaciousness of the Reed (or is that the Technics?) to the Garrard attributes.

i wonder how much difference Steve Dobbin's new platter for the Garrard might make in this comparison?

not to be missed; the growl of a cello on the Technics-Reed-A90. i'm listening to a DG Mozart string quartet as i type and the tonality is wonderful. sweet, vibrant, and almost glowing. the cello really resonates and decays like it's in the room.

Dear Mike, Do you really think that the differences you hear are mostly due to the tonearm/turntable interaction (consistent with your statement that mounting the Reed on your Garrard might give you the best of both worlds). I am kind of biased toward the view that the tonearm/cartridge interaction is dominant, so it may be that the Reed is just a better ride for the A90. Probably the lower noise floor you perceive with the Mk3 vs the Garrard IS due to the inherently more quiet operation of the Mk3, however.

At a lower level, I am trying to figure out words to describe the differences between my own SP10 MK2A in a natural slate plinth of my design and my Lenco remounted on a PTP in its own natural slate plinth. The Lenco is really dead quiet, so I cannot say I hear much difference in terms of noise. I need to swap the tonearms back and forth to get a better bead on what is happening. In my case, I do not have the same cartridge mounted on both tables, either. What is remarkable is how much the two tables sound alike (in a very good way), once mounted in slate. I have heard people say that the Mk2 is "sterile" sounding, especially lovers of idler-drive turntables, like Jean Nantais. I know what Jean meant by that remark, but in slate that quality disappears and the sound opens up and gets bigger and more lush. I can't wait to hear the Mk3.

Lew, the 12 inches of wood (cedar) in the Reed 'L' can only help the tonality. what i'm hearing reminds me of the Schroeder Ref SQ i had on the SP-10 Mk2, but with better dynamics. the Schroeder was probably a bit more lush (at the expense of some articulation) but the inner detail in the mids is similar.

as far as Reed/A90 interaction; i think that the Triplaner also works well with the A90; but the Triplaner is just not as exciting and involving an arm as the Reed. the Reed has more to say. from reading other feedback on the A90 i've not yet heard about a 'bad' A90 arm.

as far as the Technics SP-10 Mk2 being 'sterile'; my opinion is that comment says more ablout the context of the listener and their experience than anything objective about the tt. in my experience; the most involving gear reveals the most information correctly. my Dobbins/Terchnics SP-10 Mk2 with the Schroeder Ref SQ arm was anything but sterile. i really do not have any experience with any Lenco's so i can't comment on that.

Hi Guys,

For those of you who have & heard several high-end carts. Why do you think M.Fremer said it was a 'Game Changer'?

In what way did it change the game of sound, music, groove extractions etc or cartridge market?

Happy New Year. Seldom we see Audio Company celebrating 90th Anniversary.

Today's game changers are tomorrow's flavor of the month and yesterday's news.

Besides, the purchase price and bordeaux were undoubtedly excellent.

Vettorone/MikeL,

I think the cartridge comparison that you are proposing will be invaluable for most audiophiles out here. If you could throw a Dynavector DRT XV-1s into the mix, it could even answer some of my most pressing questions concerning cartridge performance and selection.

I eagerly await your kind feedback

beyond the review of the A90 in Stereophile, i did speak to Fremer at RMAF about the A90.....which was early October. the November Stereophile had not yet been mailed which contained the review, but it was being given away at RMAF (although i had not yet read it). i had had my A90 for about 30 days and mentioned to Mikey how much i liked it.

first; he was surprised i had one and thought it had not yet been offered for sale.

he said that what was unique and 'game-changing' about the A90 was that it offered such a superior neutrality to anything else he had listened to at a relatively moderate price, but even more than that the process of manufacturing the body was an application of technology way beyond anything any cartridge manufacturer had done. it allowed the specific characteristics in the body to be 'built-into' the stainless steel structure.....and these characteristics could be 'tuned' easily by altering the process of construction. he felt that other cartridge manufacturers would have to follow this lead to compete.....thus it 'changed the game'.

I now have 30 hours on an A90 / Reed 2A, having previously owned a Dynavector XV1s / 507 Mk.II arm. Alot of superlatives have been thrown around about the A90, here's my 2 cents-

Improvements over Dynavector combo: Literally EVERYTHING
- More transparent- much less veiled
- More dynamic- WAY more dynamic
- More detailed- am hearing MORE INFORMATION retrieved from grooves

- Better soundstage depth & width
- Better image focus
- Better looking- this is not at all important, but this is one COOL CART.

- Less noisy- lower noise floor- like it has a higher signal to noise ratio
- Less expensive- About $1k cheaper

This is a very HONEST cartridge which avoids the MORTAL SIN of being ruthless and aggressive in it's delivery of the truth. This is probably the most important characteristic of this cart. It has a way of being forgiving to modestly noisy and/or mediocre recordings, allowing you to listen and enjoy them-rather then being driven away. I've really wracked my brain to come up with some characteristic I don't like and I and I can only nit pick and say I with the cantilever wasn't 2 inches long, but if you're careful- not to worry. If you're coming from an XV1s- you know the drill.

I wish I had tried the A90 on the 507MK.II arm before installing the Reed to better understand the qualities the Reed is bringing to the equation. That's impossible, at this point, but I will say that I DO prefer the Reed to the Dynavector. One BIG THING is the Reed has a very high quality dedicated tonearm cable so that there are no connection between the cart. pins and the phono stage RCA input. Considering how tiny the output is from the A90, or any other low output MC cart., connectors are your enemy. The fewer the better and you can't have fewer than this, without soldering your cart. to the tonearm cable- don't try this at home!! I also prefer the VTA adjustability and cueing mechanism of the Reed. The cedar armwand has an, obviously, more organic feel to it than the INDUSTRIAL DESIGN of the Dynavector.

To date I have not heard my analog rig ( EMT 948 DIRECT DRIVE w/ custom oversized homebrew plinth) sound anywhere near this good. It's WAY BETTER, 30% -40% better than the Dyna combo- which was pretty damn good. How much better is possible- cost no object- I don't know, but I do think you're looking at $10k +++ carts- the most expensive in the world to better the A90. There certainly are few, if any other, cart. manufacturers with longevity and history of Ortofon. It's probable that their almost one century of cart. manufacturing experience, and depth of R&D is evident in the A90. An interesting side note- My 1st moving coil cartridge back in about 1980 was an Ortofon MC-20 with their little "PRE PRE-AMP". I think the combo cost me $200 and I played one particular Pat Benetar vocal track over and over
( Mercifully I no longer own that album ) to dial the cart. in.

Maybe I'm just an Ortofon man, at heart.....

It's nice to see some vinyl enthusiasts still believe in pricier MC carts of really good designs. I haven't heard A90 but a Per Windfeld. If wisely matched and correctly used, it's believed Per Windfeld is as capable as much pricier carts on the market. I wish I could hear A90 in my system later...

Dan

Thanks for the details and comparisons against other, pricier cartridges. But I have to ask (because I own one) ... has anyone compared this to a Transfiguration cartridge?

Not sure what VTA the other A90 folks are using, however I thought I would share.

Sometimes it is hard to teach old dogs new tricks. In all the years of listening to MC's and the last 8 with the dyna XV-1, I have always set the VTA around level or back down - you know the audiophile rules - back down = less treble/bright - back up - more treble or brighter.

I slightly raised the back up and the improvement in sound is quite startling. Clearer, more transparent yet also more pure/organic, better drive and bass impact. A very nice improvement to what was all ready wonderful.

I do change from 50 ohms to 100ohm loading and 50ohms may sound a little more pure and 100ohm sounds a little more vibrant. In my system setup I mostly prefer 100ohms - probably more to do with the slightly laid back presentation my system has.

Now that I re-read this thread I see Mike L was using his A90 slightly back up as well.

What setup paramaters do others use?


I have had the A90 on my vintage Exclusive P3 for a couple of mnths now. I planned to move it back to my Raven AC-3 as the Raven is getting about as much play as Tiger is with his wife.
Trouble is, I am loath to re-set up the A90 on the Raven, as it is sounding so sweet on the P3. Still saving for that 2nd A90. My XV-1 after many years service will be retired with dignity and grace.

cheers

Shane, I have my A90 pretty close to horizontal...perhaps just a touch up at the rear going by the Phantom's mircopoise bubble level (but well within the centre guide lines).

The cartridge still sounds good if VTA is a bit off, but you don't get that same image 'pop' and presence - nor the bass snap - that you get when it's right.

If you do mount the A90 in your Phantom (on the Raven) I have a tip. Try some Caig Pro-gold on the Phantoms cartridge clips, arm wand pins, DIN and RCA connections. I hadn't done this since purchasing the Phantom and I was amazed at the obvious improvement in both image palpability and fine textural detail - leading to even greater musical involvement and flow.

I don't recall ever hearing such an obvious improvement when treating with Pro-Gold on previous occasions. These are no doubt critical connections, but I think the A90's great clarity and performance potential makes the treatment very worthwhile.

Paul

I set the A90 on the Phantom / Raven on Sunday when the family was out.
You are right, the A90 sounds great regardless. I am sure with my back slightly up it sounds better than it did several mnths back with the Phantom.
Obviously with the Phantom you can easily experiment over time.

I don't have any Craig, but I think I might have some kontact around somewhere.

Anyway, try the A90 with the arm slightly up at the back and see if you feel it is an improvement.

Shane,

Any further thoughts on the A90 and/or the Raven AC now that you moved the A90 from the P3 to the Raven AC/Phantom?

Andrew

Hi Andrew

Any further thoughts, Yes, that the millenium mat is now an obvious weakness.

When I put the A90 back onto the Raven (I had not really played it for two mnths when the A90 was on the P3), I felt that the raven was just too reserved and big easy smooth. It could not compete with the P3 on speed, drive and tempo.

Took it off and just used no mat - copper top. WOW big difference. A lot better drive in the bass and music sounds better with great tempo. copper top might be a bit too much in the upper frequencies

The millenium mat is a little laid back tempo wise and soft in the leading edge and bass a little rounded.

playing around with a few mat options at the moment, however the raven is a lot closer to the P3 with the millenium mat gone.

The A90 lets you hear it all :-)

What mat do you use?

cheers

Shane,

Great ears hear alike. Great minds think alike too. You are spot-on with your opinion of the Millenium mat.

I was using the Millenium mat until about 9 months ago. I removed the mat and heard the same type of observations you noted.

The mat obscures microdynamics and slows the speed and tempo.

The soundstage is much clearer and larger without the mat. One can "hear into" the recording better without the mat. The mat flattens the soundstage height/depth.

Just about everything improves with the copper top only compared to the Mellenium.

By the way, I had tried different mats and trying the copper top only about 1.5 year ago when I had my Triplanar. The triplanar was not able to detect the differences between the mats like the Phantom 2 does.

I don't use a mat any longer. Let me know if you come up with something better than the copper top only.

Andrew

Mine just arrived. Have not installed it yet. I have Micro Seiki RX-1500 with SME3009R.

Hi Diva, great system - plenty of luvely tubes!!

let us know how it sounds on the might Micro. Should sound sweet as.

BTW, what phono stage do you have - tube research?

cheers

Downunder: Thanks. You too have good a nice one, especially those Sonus Fabers look like a stunning Italian beauty. I guess you are located downunder? Which city?

My phonstage is a modest musical fidelity but I am building my own based on the same principle that was used my X-2 pre-amp (see the review of that preamp in product review section, if you curious).

Has anyone compared the A-90 with the ZYX Universe?

Diva

Yes the Strads are rather like a sexy Italian female, yet the Strads don't age :-)

I live in Sydney and it is very hot for this time of year at the moment.

I hope the new phono stage works out awesome, as the A90 will appreciate any improvements in the chain.

Just set up my ortofon a90. After 1-2 days of tweaking, it thrash my allaerts mc1b. However setting up on a schroeder 2fw can be a real pain esp azimuth. Really a trial n error effort with schroeder. Plenty of energy, fast , more refine and sounded exciting, with me tapping my legs along with "fast car" Tracy chapman. Wonder how much better if I paired it with raven 10.5 tonearm ( ordered) and after burn in. looks like my schroeder n mc1b will be on sales soon.
Guys what is your prefer loading for this catridge? Thanks

Where do you get an A90 from. Any USA dealers suggestions?
Also, I hear that as per Ortofon policy, it does not allow dealers to "ship" a cartridge. Only sold in store??

I wonder what the wait time is now.

Feedback appreciated.
Sly

the A90 will only get better with more play

I generally have the loading at 100ohms, sometimes at 50ohms if the music is overly edgy. \
and you?

enjoy

Downunder I load it at about 76ohm. My ensemble fonobrio do not have 100ohm loading. Next value is about 140ohm. Off course I can open up cover and put a certain value resistor to load it to 100ohm.

Smoffatt, I m from Malaysia. There is no distributor in Malaysia. I got it from Singapore, nearest to my country.

I have just opene dmy A-90 box. I am think whether to install the A-90 with my SME3009R on the Mingicro Seiki RX-1500, or first upgrade my tonearm and then install the A-90 on a better arm. If later, then I am think of Graham phantom even though SME V is under consideration too. Any thoughts? Thanks.

I have just opened my A-90 box. I am thinking whether to install the A-90 with my SME3009R on the Micro Seiki RX-1500, or first upgrade the tonearm and then install the A-90 on a better arm. If latter, then I am thinking of Graham phantom even though SME V is under consideration too. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Diva

there is no harm in playing the A90. install it and play.

I am not expert on MS tables, but a Fidelity Research would probably go well with it.

A90 Alert!!!!

no, nothing wrong with my A90's. relax.

i would like to bring attention to an issue we discovered this past weekend we had 3 different A90's on three different tt's at the same time.....and .....they all had dramatically different ideal VTF's!

i have my first A90 which has approx 120 hours. it had been on my Triplaner/Garrard where we had found that 2.20 grams (as measured by a Winds gauge) was ideal. we had done this work when this A90 had about 90 hours on it. this past Saturday we mounted it on a new Reed 2P/Garrard and began our final set-up at 2.20 grams. we then spent the next 45 minutes (Steve Dobbins, Jonathan Tinn and myself) dailing it in. we went down and down and down....it just kept getting better. we never measured, just followed our ears. finally we settled on a VTF that was best. then we measured....1.55 grams!!!!

then we mounted Steve's A90 (with approx 40 hours on it) on 'the Beat' tt with a 10.5 inch Reed 2P. we went thru the same process and ended up at 1.91 grams.

lastly; my second Reed (with approx 60 hours on it) is on the Rockport and i had had it it at 2.20 grams. after those other experiences our eyes were openned. so we tried both heavier and lighter. we ended up at 2.06 grams.

all three of those experiences were last Saturday.

Sunday afternoon; before we packed up 'The Beat' we revisited the set-up on each tt. our prior set-ups held exactly the same.

note; we used both my Winds Gauge good to one hundreth of a gram and a similar gauge of Steve's which both calibrated to within one one-hundreth of a gram with each other. this was not an issue of questioned measurments.

we were all a bit confused by how we could have 3 so radically different VTF's on three same model cartridges. not only that; but the Ortofon A90 MC is likely the most consistent from piece to piece in actual contruction of any cartridge ever built. all three of these A90's sounded wonderful....marvelous.

my caution would be to keep your mind and ears open as to what VTF might be ideal for your A90. this is not onje of those times when you can be confident that another users experiences will be useful for your A90 set-up; ya gotta listen.

my second Reed (with approx 60 hours on it) is on the Rockport

typo---i meant my 2nd A90, not my second Reed (even thougfh i do have 2 Reeds).

Any idea how the A90 compared to the Clearaudio Goldfinger v2?

Changster;

back in 1999--2001 i owned a Clearaudio Insider Gold. it was an excellent cartridge at the time and replaced my much loved (and only recently sold) Koetsu RSP in my sustem. then i was exposed to the vdH Colibri; which suplanted the Insider in my system and i sold the Insider.

i have only heard the Goldfinger (v.2) at shows; where i have mostly liked it. at RMAF it has been on the big Clearaudio tt's in the Audio Unlimited rooms. if i had to guess about how it compares to the A90 i would say it's in the same general performance catagory. without spending time with a Goldfinger v.2 in my system it would be hard to speculate much more than that.

Mike,
you are quite right, the A 90 gets very close to the Goldfinger v2. I am playing both and I am surprised about the qualities of the Ortofon. Straight from the start a brilliant sound. How many will be manufactured - 500 ?. I have No 125. I am not in sales nor in connection with Ortofon, despite the fact that I am running lots of SPUs.
But whoever doubts about this cartridge he may regret some time.

This is all exciting news based on the information provided by trusted listeners. I listened to the A-90 at Mike Levine's place and it all sounded great even though it is hard to discern the impact of the cartridge alone in the presence of all ultra high-end gear. But I trust Mike's words.

I haven't even opened my box yet and hence do not know the number, as I am waiting for a new arm which I have decided what to go for. Looking forward to listening to my setup and reporting my findings here.

By the way Thuchan, you mentioned earlier (I presume before listening to the A-90) that you liked the ZYX Universe very much. How does the A-90 compare to the Universe? I guess they do sound different but which one would you prefer?

Gallant_diva, I will give the A90 some more 20 hours for a fair competition, will come back to you - promise!

Thanks, Thuchan.

By the way, my number is 130.

just received my new example of A90 cartridge

Tuboo. Congrats & Enjoy the music. Perhaps you may want to share your listening impressions once settled down and the A90 sync-in with your system.

I have serial no.80 ish.
Loading at 100ohms on a Whest PS.30RDT.

What amazed me from the start was just how civilised the A90 was straight out of the box. The first 25 hours was actually a pleasure which I've NEVER experienced before on any other MC I have ever owned. The next 25 hours were an eye-opener. E

verything I through at the A90 was played back in a way that I have never heard before. I could make out types of keyboards and guitars used and down to what reverb unit was being used.

The A90 pulls things apart like no other but more importantly plays music...and glorious at that.

I now have the Ortofon A90 mounted on my new Bergman Sindre turntable. I have it tracking at 2.3 grams. I am using my H-Cat phono stage with a 100 ohm load. I don't know how much of what I am hearing to attribute purely to the A90, but the sound is breathtaking. I have a wide soundstage, excellent extension at the top and bottom ends, fantastic dynamics, incredible tracking, and probably the greatest realism I have ever heard.

I started at absolute level but have found that the sound is best with the cartridge lower in back, not by much.

I would like to try the London Decca Reference, but it will be a long time before I remove the A90.

but the sound is breathtaking. I have a wide soundstage, excellent extension at the top and bottom ends, fantastic dynamics, incredible tracking, and probably the greatest realism I have ever heard.

Norm, i thought you were through with tt's?

8>)

i'm happy to hear you are enjoying the A90.

Mike, I had a Shindo Labs tt which entails adopting everything-tone arm and cartridge.

As I said, I really don't know if it is the cartridge entirely.

Apparently, Ortofon is going to have to stick with the maximum of 500 A90s. It is some limitation in the manufacturing process.