Ortofon announced a string of new products at Munich High End earlier in May, now, they are available in the UK, thanks to Henley Audio.

When it was announced in 2012, the MC Anna made quite an impact as a, but, thanks to Ortofon’s MC Century development process during 2018, they’ve now developed a new technique to make the original MC Anna perform even better.

Ortofon MC Anna Diamond Cartridge

The MC Anna Diamond has all the same features as the MC Anna, except the diamond stylus is now mounted directly on to a diamond cantilever.

Ortofon has a long tradition of paying tribute to persons who have been highly influential within high end audio culture, with models like SPU Meister, MC Rohmann, Kontrapunkt and the MC Windfeld they take inspiration from important figures to engineer premium audio products. With the MC Anna and new MC Anna Diamond, Ortofon is dedicating their flagship design to the operatic soprano Anna Netrebko, a virtuoso whose performance displays a formidable technical arsenal of endless versatility.

With such an iconic figure in mind, the MC Anna Diamond makes use of Ortofon’s finest technologies and materials. The housing of the MC Anna Diamond is made using Ortofon’s SLM technique. In production, fine particles of Titanium are welded together, layer-by-layer, to construct a single piece body devoid of unnecessary material.

Ortofon Replicant 100 diamond stylus profile

Like previous Ortofon flagships, the MC Anna Diamond makes use of the company’s best stylus profile. The specially polished Ortofon Replicant 100 diamond stylus profile has a thin and light shape, with a long vertical contact surface making it as close as possible to an original record cutting stylus as possible.

The stylus and cantilever are connected into a newly improved generator system with a high-performance iron-cobalt alloy applied in some parts of the magnet structure for greater consistency and control. The specially designed precision moulded non-magnetic armature is very strong and rigid, and also benefits from extreme precision in each coil turn on all layers. The armature then extends beyond the coils, interfacing directly with the rubber dampers, which sandwich a small heavy disc of platinum. This Wide Range Damping (WRD) system offers more consistent movement with zero unwanted resonance. Cosmetically, the shape of the MC Anna Diamond is the same as the standard MC Anna, differentiated visually only by the additional diamond logo on the front of the cartridge. The bottom section of the cartridge has been constructed from a special proprietary Thermo-Plastic Elastomer (TPE) material, which provides additional damping properties.

With an output impedance of 6Ω and a low-to-medium output voltage of 0.2mV, the MC Anna Diamond is easy to partner with most phono pre-amps and step-up transformers, including Ortofon’s own ST-80 SE model. It’s also an ideal match for high-mass, high-precision tonearms with gimbal bearing systems. Supplied in a luxury case made with Japanese wood, accompanied by a comprehensive user booklet and maintenance kit, the MC Anna Diamond costs £7,250.

Technical Information

Output Voltage (at 1kHz, 5cm/sec): 0.2mV

Channel Balance at 1kHz: 0.5dB

Channel Separation at 1kHz: 25dB

Channel Separation at 15kHz: 22dB

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz ± 1.5dB

Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 80μm

Compliance, Dynamic, Lateral: 9μm / mN

Stylus Type: Nude Ortofon Replicant 100 (Special Polished Version)

Cantilever: Diamond

Stylus Tip Radius r / R: 5 / 100μm

Recommended Tracking Force: 2.4g (24mN)

Tracking Angle: 23º

Internal Impedance / DC Resistance: 6Ω

Recommended Load Impedance: > 10Ω

Cartridge Body Material: SLM Titanium

Cartridge Colour: Silver / Black

Cartridge Weight: 16.0g

Included Accessory: LW-800S Lead Wires

Ortofon Cartridge Experience Tour

To help as many people as possible experience this new high-end standard, Henley are taking their popular “Ortofon Cartridge Experience” events back on the road.

The tour will take visitors on a journey through the Ortofon range, starting with the 2M Red at £95.00 and climaxing with the new flagship MC Anna Diamond at £7,250.00.

During the events, visitors will learn more about Ortofon and also the importance of cartridges in a vinyl hifi system. The presentation will also cover the various stages in each Ortofon product series, explaining the difference between Red, Blue, Bronze and Black cartridges across the 2M, Quintet and Cadenza models. The events will end with an extended playback of the new MC Anna Diamond cartridge. There will also be an opportunity to talk with analogue experts about specific questions you may have.

The Cartridge Experience Tour is open to all, but we recommend registering your interest with your preferred venue, to guarantee you don’t miss any of the presentation.

The Cartridge Experience Tour will visit:

• Saturday, July 13th: Nintronics (Welwyn Garden City)
• Friday, August 16th: Midland Audio X-Change (Belbroughton)
• Saturday, August 31st: Oxford Audio Consultants (Oxford)
• Wednesday, September 4th: Home Media Limited (Kent)
• Saturday, September 14th: Wilkinson’s Hi-Fi (Nelson)
• Saturday, September 21st: Fanthorpes HiFi (Hull)

High End Munich 2019

Munich High End also saw Ortofon release two new cartridges and a mid-range step-up transformer.

Super OM 5E – £70.00 SRP

An affordable “Optimum Match” cartridge with upgraded (super) cartridge body, featuring split-pole pin technology as found in the Ortofon 2M series. Stock due: Summer 2019

Ortofon MC A Mono – £3750.00 SRP

A high-end pure mono cartridge, inspired by the same technologies and processes that made Ortofon’s MC A 95 cartridge. Made to order for UK sales.

Ortofon ST-70 – £925.00 SRP

A step-up transformer with two configuration settings, ideal for use with the Cadenza moving coil cartridge series. Stock due: Summer 2019

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