Ortofon MC A90 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge
The world's first cartridge made with SLM technology

Ortofon takes a leap forward in cartridge technology with the introduction of the new MC A90 cartridge. Expanding upon the success of the well-received MC Windfeld, the MC A90 not only stands as a contender for the best cartridge of all-time, but it also rewrites the criteria by which moving coils are judged. The result of a culmination of research spanning the history of Ortofon’s moving coil cartridges, combined with the emergence of new manufacturing paradigms has resulted in levels of performance previously thought to be unattainable in the world of vinyl playback.

Rather than taking an incremental strategy with regards to engineering improvements, the MC A90 takes an outstanding and revolutionary approach which prompts a measurable increase in the areas of microtransient reproduction, dynamic capability, and even with tonearm compatibility. This approach of course, is the SLM manufacturing technique, a new method for which Ortofon has a patent pending. Also known as Selective Laser Melting, this process starts with constructing the cartridge body material by welding stainless steel particles (about 50 microns in size), layer by layer, while maintaining exacting requirements for material density. The resulting structure is virtually impervious to sources of external resonance, a feat for the unbridled reproduction of even the most minuscule details combined with exceptional dynamics.

In the November 2009 issue of Stereophile, Michael Fremer recalled the first time he had seen a demonstration of SLM manufacturing’s damping characteristics. “After letting me marvel at and handle the gleaming aluminum shape of the MC A90, Leif Johannsen [Ortofon’s Chief of Analog Technology] took me to a secluded area of the hall where the flooring was of hard linoleum. He held the body out in front of him and let it drop. With a ping, it bounced about two feet in the air. Then, with modest dramatic flare, he removed a second cartridge body from his pocket. This one was layered like a cross section of stratified rock, but more neatly and uniformly. From chest height, he dropped the second body. Instead of bouncing with a distinct ping, it hit the floor with a non-resonant tick and stopped dead, without bouncing back so much an inch. Now that was major.”

Of course, careful attention has been paid to maintaining an exceedingly flat frequency response and utter neutrality across the frequency range from bottom to top. Listeners will enjoy precision sound throughout, with quick, impactful bass extension alongside of clean and fast high frequency reproduction. As another side-effect of SLM, cartridge/tonearm matching concerns become far less stringent, as the typical influences of resonance as they are fed back into the tonearm assembly are eliminated. However, traditional wisdom as it relates to cartridge matching, taking into consideration cartridge weight and compliance (in this case 8 gm and 16 µm/mN), suggests a range of compatibility that not only finds itself at home with modern contemporary medium mass arms, but also with a wide range of both low-mass and high-mass designs.

With SLM being the centerpiece of the MC A90 design, each component has been built directly onto the A90’s one-piece body, including an optimized generator system and split pole pins. The cartridge has been fitted with a Boron cantilever, possessing an extra-polished version of the acclaimed Ortofon Replicant 100 diamond. As with previous designs (like the MC Windfeld), the Replicant has an exceedingly high contact area with a bare minimum of rounding, allowing for superior reproduction of even the finest of groove modulations. Michael Fremer noted, “The MC A90’s transient performance was ultra-fast, clean, and precise, and its resolution of microdynamics was absolutely astonishing".

Of course, the A90 includes Per Windfeld’s Wide Range Damping (WRD) system, in which a small platinum disc is sandwiched between two rubber dampers of different resonant properties, another method which provides perfect damping throughout the entire frequency range. Additionally, the superb generator system, known already for its remarkably neutral and honest character, includes the Field Stabilizing Element (FSE), consisting of a small cylinder of silver plated copper inside of the magnetic system. FSE prompts significant sonic improvements – a reduction in dynamic distortion and intermodulation. This plays a tremendous part in the A90’s remarkable dynamics, ensuring that every detail will be delivered with striking accuracy and separation. Fremer added, “the MC A90 maintained the Windfeld’s tonal neutrality while adding unsurpassed rhythmic swagger, dynamic exuberance, transparency, and three-dimensionality unmatched by any other cartridge I’ve heard. Low level dynamic gradations were revelatory, while the big ones were unrestrained and positively energetic. The MC A90’s attack was faster, cleaner, more precisely defined than that of any cartridge I’ve heard, and with no hint of brightness or unnatural edge. Its decay was equally clean and effervescent, fading quickly to inky-black backdrops.”

Finally, the MC A90 is the first cartridge to benefit from a specially designed armature, which aids in achieving extreme precision during the coil winding process. This yields a higher degree of channel separation, and offering lower distortion and better channel balance. In fact, the resulting channel balance specification has been reduced to a value less than 0.2dB. The MC A90, a cartridge of many firsts, establishes a new standard, not just for analog performance, but for the reproduction of recorded music in general. Lovers of music will take note of a truly organic, encapsulating experience which transcends the limits of recording and undeniably blurs the distinction between what is live and what is recorded. Even Michael Fremer agrees, “This cartridge is a genuine game changer”.

Read the interview with Per Windfeld

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