The Ortofon Verismo Has Arrived!!!

[jtinn]

The Ortofon Verismo has arrived. This cartridge is a real treat and as Ortofon is known for, the value of this cartridge is off the charts. For those of you not familiar, Ortofon is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, manufacturer of cartridges there is. They have been doing it at an extreme level for over 100 years. Due to their buying power, technology and manufacturing capabilities, they can produce better cartridges than most manufacturers at much lower prices.

The Ortofon Verismo is a moving coil cartridge that in relative terms is reasonably priced. It is amazingly dynamic, with great resolution and transparency. Texturally, the Verismo is beautiful. It has wonderful body and musicality while retaining a "life life" nature. It is vastly superior to either the A90 or A95 and a better overall sounding cartridge than the Anna. While it is not as refined as the Anna Diamond, it may be a bit more "mic feed" like. There is a bit more "rawness" to it but, man it is fun as hell to hear!

Here are a few pictures:

 

[daytona600]

Have one on order myself

 

[jtinn]

Have one on order myself

I am sure you are going to love it. Enjoy!!!

 

[fbhifi]

Should be a great and more affordable alternative to the extraordinary Anna Diamond. Always superlative build quality with an Ortofon cartridge.

 

[jtinn]

That really is a great way to describe it. There are some definite benefits to the Anna Diamond over the Verismo, but man this cartridge is a STEAL!

 

[PeterA]

Jonathan, in what ways is it better than the A90? Could you tell us how they sound different? Thank you.

 

[XV-1]

I really loved the A90, however with stylus life of 1000 hours - never again . I am sure this will sound wonderful.

The so-called cheaper retail pricing, really is not when Lyra or Dynavector can do 2500 hours without breaking a sweat.

 

[jtinn]

Jonathan, in what ways is it better than the A90? Could you tell us how they sound different? Thank you.

Sorry Peter, I thought I did.

There was something I always loved about the A90 that I found different than most cartridges. There was a raw "live" sound to it that i cannot remember hearing before. It was almost like an un-engineered tape. The Verismo has some of that, but it has this deft touch when it comes to nuance and detail. On the nuance side, it is not quite as good as the Anna Diamond, but easily exceeds the A90 and A95. It is incredible revealing and at the same time retains musicality. It is reminiscent of the A90 in the speed and explosiveness, but more controlled and effortless.

Hope that helps!

 

[jtinn]

I really loved the A90, however with stylus life of 1000 hours - never again . I am sure this will sound wonderful.

The so-called cheaper retail pricing, really is not when Lyra or Dynavector can do 2500 hours without breaking a sweat.

I believe that is a complete misconception.

Ortofon does not imply that their cartridges have less life than other cartridges, they are honest and state that at about 1000 hours or so, the sound of the cartridge will slowly start degrading... just like any other high-end cartridge. I have an Ortofon cartridge with over 2000 on it that i keep for a back up. Whenever I mount and listen to it, I am pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds, hence I have never bothered having it retipped.

I think a lot of it comes down to proper setup as well. Improperly setup, a cartridge will probably wear out much quicker.

 

[PeterA]

Sorry Peter, I thought I did.

There was something I always loved about the A90 that I found different than most cartridges. There was a raw "live" sound to it that i cannot remember hearing before. It was almost like an un-engineered tape. The Verismo has some of that, but it has this deft touch when it comes to nuance and detail. On the nuance side, it is not quite as good as the Anna Diamond, but easily exceeds the A90 and A95. It is incredible revealing and at the same time retains musicality. It is reminiscent of the A90 in the speed and explosiveness, but more controlled and effortless.

Hope that helps!

Thank you Tim. Yes, it does. I just remember you writing that the new Verismo is "vastly superior" to the A90/A95 with no details. I appreciate the more detailed explanation.

 

[jtinn]

Thank you Tim. Yes, it does. I just remember you writing that the new Verismo is "vastly superior" to the A90/A95 with no details. I appreciate the more detailed explanation.

Who is Tim?

 

[PeterA]

Who is Tim?

Oops. Sorry, Jonathan. Tim, Tinn, its been a long weekend of snow shoveling in Boston and my head is foggy. Time for an advil and cocktail.

 

[jtinn]

Oops. Sorry, Jonathan. Tim, Tinn, its been a long weekend of snow shoveling in Boston and my head is foggy. Time for an advil and cocktail.

No problem at all we'll just put it down as snow blindness.

 

[MortenB]

I believe that is a complete misconception.

Ortofon does not imply that their cartridges have less life than other cartridges, they are honest and state that at about 1000 hours or so, the sound of the cartridge will slowly start degrading... just like any other high-end cartridge. I have an Ortofon cartridge with over 2000 on it that i keep for a back up. Whenever I mount and listen to it, I am pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds, hence I have never bothered having it retipped.

I think a lot of it comes down to proper setup as well. Improperly setup, a cartridge will probably wear out much quicker.

Being from Denmark I have basically followed Ortofon all my life, and I still remember decades ago, when I lusted for the MC2000, but had to settle for the first version of the MC20.

Ortofon is an Engineering company working with some seriously advanced tech, and they have always been honest and quite open. For instance they used to mention how the stylus wear and perform over time, here an example from the Anna, and as you say: It’s the same for any stylus, other companies just don’t say anything about this.

Ortofon MC Anna Replicant diamond

www.ortofon.com

It seems to backfire on Ortofon in the high end world as it has created the misconception about 1000 hour stylus life that seems to stick. They have confirmed a +2000 hour stylus life more than once, also on this forum.

I think they have learned their lesson to be less open (similar to other cartridge manufactures) as they don’t share this information on the latest generation of high end cartridges.

 

[shakti]

In Germany is still rainy winter time, so I can see on my table the Ortofon Anna, the Ortofon Verismo and the EMT Novel Titan/Gold coil waiting for the fitment. Currently I am trying to understand, which tonearm should be fine for all of them to compare.
The Anna likes very heavy tonearms to sing, EMT and Verismo have a much higher compliance.
I am not sure, if just different headshells can offset the difference.

May be I will pair the EMT or the Verismo with a Magnesium Arche and the Anna with the Heavy Alloy Arche...

Still some time to think about.
So nice to see the carts just in front of me

 

[MortenB]

In Germany is still rainy winter time, so I can see on my table the Ortofon Anna, the Ortofon Verismo and the EMT Novel Titan/Gold coil waiting for the fitment. Currently I am trying to understand, which tonearm should be fine for all of them to compare.
The Anna likes very heavy tonearms to sing, EMT and Verismo have a much higher compliance.
I am not sure, if just different headshells can offset the difference.

May be I will pair the EMT or the Verismo with a Magnesium Arche and the Anna with the Heavy Alloy Arche...

Still some time to think about.
So nice to see the carts just in front of me

Happy to hear you found the right match for the Anna I will miss listen to her sing…

 

[Rekmeyata]

That really is a great way to describe it. There are some definite benefits to the Anna Diamond over the Verismo, but man this cartridge is a STEAL!

A steal? you consider $7,100 for a cartridge a steal? I consider it a rip off! The stereo separation is only 25 db, and the frequency response is only 20 to 20. When Empire was around, they made a cart called the EDR9, this thing had a stereo separation of 31 db, and a frequency response of 5 to 50, price new was only $271. That Empire cart got raving reviews, and it's still what people compare other carts to today!

 

[XV-1]

I believe that is a complete misconception.

Ortofon does not imply that their cartridges have less life than other cartridges, they are honest and state that at about 1000 hours or so, the sound of the cartridge will slowly start degrading... just like any other high-end cartridge. I have an Ortofon cartridge with over 2000 on it that i keep for a back up. Whenever I mount and listen to it, I am pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds, hence I have never bothered having it retipped.

I think a lot of it comes down to proper setup as well. Improperly setup, a cartridge will probably wear out much quicker.

I only offer my opinion when I have experienced something first hand, so it is not a misconception.

After 1000 hours the A90 still worked, but performance is degraded. tracking and upper frequencies the most obvious.
Certainly nothing wrong with my setup.

I have never had this with Dynavector or Lyra hi end cartridges.

Regards

 

[mtemur]

I believe that is a complete misconception.

Ortofon does not imply that their cartridges have less life than other cartridges, they are honest and state that at about 1000 hours or so, the sound of the cartridge will slowly start degrading... just like any other high-end cartridge. I have an Ortofon cartridge with over 2000 on it that i keep for a back up. Whenever I mount and listen to it, I am pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds, hence I have never bothered having it retipped.

I think a lot of it comes down to proper setup as well. Improperly setup, a cartridge will probably wear out much quicker.

+1
And usually damper/suspension dies before the stylus which lasts at least five years.

 

[Solypsa]

A steal? you consider $7,100 for a cartridge a steal? I consider it a rip off! The stereo separation is only 25 db, and the frequency response is only 20 to 20. When Empire was around, they made a cart called the EDR9, this thing had a stereo separation of 31 db, and a frequency response of 5 to 50, price new was only $271. That Empire cart got raving reviews, and it's still what people compare other carts to today!

Everything was cheaper in 1978