Ortofon’s new Xpression phono cartridge bridges the gap between its SPU-type phono cartridges and its high-end phono cartridges such as the MC A90 and the MC Windfeld designed for headshell mounting. It combines the unique generator system introduced with the MC A90 together with cutting edge SLM materials technology, yet despite its strange appearance, it very definitely continues the Ortofon design tradition. ‘What Ortofon has achieved is a high-performance moving-coil cartridge with the convenience of a standard headshell connector, which provides a simple and elegant method of directly connecting the generator and tonearm via the Xpression’s one-piece body,’ says Tom Manning, of Speakerbits, which distributes Ortofon in Australia. ‘And, since the cartridge length and height are identical to that of an SPU, the Xpression can easily be fitted onto tonearms without additional concern for proper alignment,’ he added. Additionally, Ortofon has designed the Xpression so that its mass and compliance properties are such that it will be a proper match when used in the new Ortofon TA-110 tonearm, or with any SPU-compatible arm and so that it will be easy to use, thanks to an easy-to-grab finger lift and an effective simple-to-use stylus guard.

The Xpression has a boron cantilever and a ‘Replicant 100’ diamond stylus. The coils are made from expensive ‘Aucurum’ coils of gold-plated, 6NX oxygen-free copper wound on a specially-designed armature that enables Ortofon to maintain extreme precision when layering the wire in the coils. ‘This allows for zero-loss transmission of the diamond’s movements via its boron cantilever and combines low moving mass with an extremely high degree of rigidity,’ Manning told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine. According to Ortofon, it also gives the Xpression high channel separation, better channel balance and lower distortion. The output impedance is 4Ω and the output voltage is 0.3mV—ideal for Ortofon’s ST-80SE step-up transformer.

For further information, please contact Ortofon at Speakerbits













Ortofon Xpression Technical Data

Output voltage at 1 kHz, 5cm/sec: 0.3 mV
Channel balance at 1 kHz: < 0.2dB
Channel separation at 1 kHz: > 28dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz: > 22dB
Frequency range at –3dB: 10–60kHz
Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz +0.5 –1.5 dB
Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force: 90 μm
Compliance, dynamic, lateral: 11μm/mN
Stylus type: Special polished Nude Ortofon Replicant 100
Stylus tip radius: r/R 5/100μm
Tracking force range: 2.3–2.8g (23–28 mN)
Tracking force, recommended: 2.6g (26mN)
Tracking angle: 23°
Internal impedance, DC resistance: 4Ω
Recommended load impedance: > 10Ω
Cartridge Weight: 28g