Ortofon 540 Phono cartridge Review

Ortofon’s Series 500 moving-magnet phono cartridges were designed to compete with digital sound sources by emulating their response uniformity and low distortion while retaining the musical qualities often associated with analog music reproduction.

All six Series 500 models are fundamentally the same. Three are of conventional construction, compatible with the 1/2-inch-spaced mounting holes of universal tonearms. The other three are P-mount cartridges that plug directly into the end of a T4P standard tonearm and require no adjustment, balancing, or tracking-force setting. Each group shares the same body and internal design, differing only in the shape of the stylus tip. Since all of the user-replaceable styli (which have integral pivoting stylus guards) fit any of the cartridges, the purchaser of one of the lower-price models can easily upgrade it without replacing the entire cartridge.

We tested the top of the line, the Model 540, a universal-mount cartridge fitted with a fine-line Fritz Gyger II nude stylus. The stylus’s contact area with the groove wall closely resembles that of a cutting stylus, which gives it an extended high-frequency response, rated to 27,000 Hz, and lower distortion when playing high-level passages.

The performance differences among the three universal cartridge models in the line are principally in their lateral tracking ability at 315 Hz. The least expensive, the Model 520, with an elliptical stylus, is rated at 70 micrometers (μm) in this test. Its 1,000-Hz channel separation is also rated as 23 dB, compared with the 25-dB rating of the other two models. The middle cartridge, the Model 530, has a fine-line stylus with a tracking-ability rating of 80 μm, and the Model 540 carries a 90-μm rating.

All of these ratings are based on a nominal 1.5-gram tracking force. Other characteristics the cartridges have in common are an equivalent stylus tip mass of 0.3 milligram, output of 3 millivolts, and channel balance of 1.5 dB at 1,000 Hz. All of the styli have a nominal vertical tracking angle of 20 degrees.

According to Ortofon, the frequency response of the cartridges has been flattened by using slit pole pins in their magnetic systems, thereby reducing eddy currents and eliminating the sagging high-frequency response characteristic of solid pole pins.

The Ortofon Model 540 is furnished with a small screwdriver, mounting hardware, and a stylus gauge. The black, plastic-encapsulated cartridge body weighs 5 grams, well within the balancing range of almost any tonearm. Price: $300.

Lab Tests

We installed the Ortofon Model 540 in the medium-mass tonearm (about 18 grams) of a good, popular-priced turntable. We used the rated tracking force of 1.5 grams and a load of 47,000 ohms and 140 picofarads for our measurements.

The cartridge’s output was 3.7 millivolts at a recorded velocity of 3.54 cm/s, with a channel imbalance of only 0.35 dB. The vertical tracking angle was 22 degrees. Frequency-response and crosstalk measurements with two test records (the CBS CTC 300 and the older STR 100) yielded similar results. Cartridge response was very flat, within about 1 dB, well beyond 10,000 Hz and rose by 1 to 3 dB at 20,000 Hz. The channel separation (crosstalk) was rather asymmetrical, which is not uncommon among cartridges, with readings of 15 to 25 dB over the full frequency range.

The true mettle of the Ortofon Model 540 was revealed in its tracking ability. It easily handled the very high-level 32-hz tones of the Cook 60 test record, and the 30-cm/s 1,000-Hz tones of the Fairchild 101 record were reproduced with only the moderate peak-flattening typical of this record (but with no sign of mistracking). Playing the DIN 45549 test record, the Model 540 tracked the 110-micrometer level at 315 Hz, the first cartridge in our experience to do so, far surpassing its 90-jum rating. Other tracking tests with the CBS CTC 300 test record (which we have not used previously for this measurement) indicated that the cartridge could track the 100-μm lateral section and the maximum-level 63-μm vertical section.

Comments

Our measurements indicate that the Ortofon Model 540 is one of the top-performing cartridges of today, and possibly of all time. It seems unlikely that any recording will exceed its tracking abilities. Its frequency response was also very uniform (we have seen a few others with comparable flatness, but they are rare). The channel separation, though falling a little short of the cartridge’s ratings, was nevertheless adequate for a full stereo effect. The output was higher than that of most other cartridges of comparable quality, though not enough to make a significant difference.

The only sour note in our experience with the Ortofon 540 was the omission from the instruction sheet of information on how to remove the stylus. Even though the instructions advised removing the stylus before mounting the cartridge, we had to mount it with the stylus installed. Later, we found in a brochure on the Ortofon 500 Series that the stylus assembly is locked in place when the stylus guard is in either storage or playing position; only midway between the two is it possible to remove the stylus. Another surprising omission in the cartridge’s documentation was any mention of the recommended load or of the inductance and resistance of the coil windings.

We found no surprises in listening to the Model 540, however. Its sound quality and clarity are certainly close to those of a CD player (some might say better, but we won’t get involved in that!). Only an occasional tick or pop gave away the analog nature of the source. One can hardly expect more of an analog playback system.

Ortofon has demonstrated quite effectively that the LP is not yet dead and that first-rate playing quality is possible from a reasonably priced cartridge.

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