Ortofon MC Diamond Moving Coil Cartridge The Ortofon MC Diamond is a distinctive cartridge in more ways than one. For a start, the body is made of titanium rather than more popular cartridge materials like aluminium and wood. In this instance, the titanium has been formed using selective laser melting, a technique which allows Ortofon to control the density of the metal and deliver higher internal damping than can be achieved with machining alone. Titanium is a lot denser and heavier than aluminium and favoured by another Danish company Ansuz who prefer its sonic character when used in isolation products and casework. A third example is in the counterweights on Rega’s top tonearms, there is more to this metal than most are aware. The high 17.5g mass of this cartridge allied to a relatively high 2.6 gram tracking force mean that it’s suited to a high mass arm, fortunately these are more common than the increasingly rare low mass alternative, but in both the arms tried for this review an extra-heavy counterweight was required. Installation is relatively straightforward thanks to the decent stylus guard and threaded inserts in the top of the titanium body. The cartridge’s rounded body doesn’t aid alignment but the cantilever is long enough to be seen against a gauge without too much squinting. SKU: ortofon-mcdia-mcc Categories: Home Audio, Cartridges & Styli, Turntables & Accessories
