Raul, it’s true that Ortofon always had a somewhat mundane reputation, at least here in the West. The book released for their 100th Anniversary describes in detail their professional heritage and they did their business accordingly. No brand mystique or fancy marketing tactics. Their record cutting lathes were equal if not superior to the Neumann lathes, but didn’t sell as well mostly resulting from licensing agreements and other business reasons. Their tonearms and SPU cartridges were also broadcasting industry standards, in direct competition with EMT. Again the EMT products were generally more succesful, perhaps because Ortofon never produced a dedicated turntable.
In the 70’s they became a household name for low priced MM cartridges, competing with companies like Grado. In the 80’s when digital took over, they managed to be very succesful in the DJ crowd. This market position probably didn’t sit well with a high end reputation, even when such products were just as much part of their portfolio (like the ’000’ series discussed here). The new management made the decision to put more emphasis on the expensive high end products, which has changed the reputation amongst audiophiles. It has to be said that the situation in Japan was very different, where they had always been one of the most highly regarded European brands, especially for the SPU cartridges.
In the 70’s they became a household name for low priced MM cartridges, competing with companies like Grado. In the 80’s when digital took over, they managed to be very succesful in the DJ crowd. This market position probably didn’t sit well with a high end reputation, even when such products were just as much part of their portfolio (like the ’000’ series discussed here). The new management made the decision to put more emphasis on the expensive high end products, which has changed the reputation amongst audiophiles. It has to be said that the situation in Japan was very different, where they had always been one of the most highly regarded European brands, especially for the SPU cartridges.
