Anyone used Ortofon MC Cartridges for CD-4 &/or VPI Scout & Rek-O-Kut Rondine III tt?

[Quad Linda]

I'm considering a new turntable & cartridge. I'm looking at a VPI Scout or Rek-O-Kut Rondine III transcription turntable w/78 & variable speed. I would love input on these tables, but mainly on Ortofon moving coil cartridges for CD-4. I've used various Ortofon MC 20's for stereo & matrix for 35 years. I've not heard anything else, including other MC cartridges, that has the openness or warmth of Ortofon. For CD-4, I've used Audio-Technica for 40 years and used it for everything until I discovered Ortofon in the late '70's.

I'm looking at the Ortofon Cadenza series. The Blue, Bronze and Black all have frequency response up to 50,000hz +. I'm also considering the Jubilee. Input on the Ortofon Windfeld would be appreciated, though at $3750, it is probably a bit rich for my blood.

Linda
Mistress of Moving Coil

 

[jefe1]

Yikes! I remember when cars used to sell at that price. Does the Windfeld come in a stick shift model?

 

[Doug G.]

Yeah, and a cigarette lighter with a platinum plated heating element (PPHE)?



Doug

 

[Quad Linda]

Maybe they have a more basic phono cartridge for 25 hundred? Instead of a Shibata, you get a metal, conical stylus.

Linda

 

[mandrix]

Back in the day (70's) I never used anything but Audio-Technica. I remember my young daughter dragging the tonearm on my Thorenz across a record and bending the shibata stylus.
One of the few times she got a pop on the butt. I have no clue now what I paid for the Thorenz and the cart, both of which are long gone.
I can remember I paid 555 (999 list price) for one of my Kenwood quad receivers at a military audio store. Mucho bucks on Army pay at the time.

 

[Quad Linda]

Audio-Technica cartridges all sound very good, even the stereo models. I prefer them to any other mass marketed brand. I sold thousands of them to clients in the day. I've used them for nearly 40 years for CD-4. After 5 years of using AT 14's for everything, I discovered Ortofon. Their sound is far more warm and open than AT or anything else I've heard, especially the moving coil models. The improvement is similar to what an advanced res. DVD-A or SACD sound like compared to Dolby Digital, or preamp/power amps compared to a receiver. In the 70's, AT Shibatas were $100-$200. An Ortofon MC20 was $500 back then and needed a $300 pre-pre amp to make it work. $800 for a cartridge & pre-pre was a pile of dough back then. Even today, few people have more than that invested in their entire system. The improvement in performance is obvious. After a point, expensive gear becomes the law of diminishing returns. Those who know the difference are often willing to pay the price.

Linda,
Maven of Moving Coil

 

[mandrix]

I suppose I had more money tied up in my Quad equipment in the 70's than I do in my present setup, so in my case at least I have to agree. Back then I made a lot of sacrifices to buy equipment, but I felt like a kid in a candy store every time I walked into an audio shop. I can no longer afford that attitude, so I make the best of what I can get on an almost non-existent budget.
Fortunately it has never diminished my enjoyment of music, I and like to read posts from people like you who truly enjoy and make the best use of their gear, no matter what the price.

 

[ndiamone]

www.musicmanmurray.com has so many 78 turntables it's not even funny.
There's a Thorens 124 there (no plinth though just the regular base) for $750.
I's not $2500 like everybody else's because A) no plinth B) needs a new pitch adjust and C) needs a new aluminum drive capstan for over the motor - the one it has runs slow.

And, he has a linear tracking 3 speed ROK Rondine in his office for like a hundred or so because it needs a new bearing underneath the platter and needs new oil in the pit.