6 SPU trial

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
2,503
1,943
343
Today i listen and tried for the first time all my 6 SPU

A95 and Synergy and the 4 SPU of collector box
Classic,Gold Reference,85 and A 90
A 95 and Synergy sounded about 60 hours,while the Collector box is new and is first time i listen.

I listen with Torqueo T34 Limited and Saec 506
I put impedance 80 ohm,Ortofon suggest 50/100 ohm

IMG_4072.jpg
IMG_4070.jpg

These are the record i listen

IMG_4074.jpg
IMG_4082.jpg
IMG_4083.jpg

With Peter,Paul & Mary,3 voices with guitar,is difficult to find differences because the sound of the cartridges are similar with small difference nuances.
With ELP,From the beginning song,and with Patricia Barber,you can listen the difference.

85,A90 and A95,sound is similar in the mid bass/midhigh
85 is the worse,FOR ME,because bass is more weak and is less transparent and little roll off vs A90.With my surprise A90 is the best of the 3 because has bass deeper and high more transparent and less roll off than other 2.
A 95 has less deep bass and little roll off,so seems deep bass and top high are cut

I was very surprised because i was sure A95 was the best

Classic is the worse in every parameter,i don't like a lot,

But big surprise for me is Gold Reference
I found this better than other because bass is deep,high is shining more than others and mid is similar quality and is the more balanced and mid bass has not the full presence of others
Synergy is similar to Gold Reference ,but with less quality

This is only a fast trial of 2 hours and explained with simple and poor word
 

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
2,503
1,943
343
IMG_4084.jpg

With this record you can listen very well difference like i explained
 

ddk

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2013
6,261
4,040
995
Utah
Caro Gian,

You should try this test again and give it the proper time needed to conduct properly. You need the time for proper setup specially the VTA is very important and I also found out that newer Ortofons like the A95 take a long time to break-in, 100-200 hrs. The beauty of Ortofon limited edition SPUs is their diversity, they're not supposed to be the most neutral or anything else they're all about color and flavor. I actually find them very dissimilar from your comments you have a bottle neck somewhere in your system or setup to make them sound the same or even close to each other. For example the A95 is a little on the softer side but is very detailed and full range, no roll off or bass deficiencies. To fully enjoy them you also need to find the right music for these beauties for example the A95 is very sympathetic to strings, you get a gorgeous full bodied yet light sound very open and spacious at the same time for orchestral presentation but the color isn't obvious until you compare it to a more neutral cartridge. Give each one time to settle in and yourself to discover their special qualities.

Enjoy!

david


Today i listen and tried for the first time all my 6 SPU

A95 and Synergy and the 4 SPU of collector box
Classic,Gold Reference,85 and A 90
A 95 and Synergy sounded about 60 hours,while the Collector box is new and is first time i listen.

I listen with Torqueo T34 Limited and Saec 506
I put impedance 80 ohm,Ortofon suggest 50/100 ohm

With Peter,Paul & Mary,3 voices with guitar,is difficult to find differences because the sound of the cartridges are similar with small difference nuances.
With ELP,From the beginning song,and with Patricia Barber,you can listen the difference.

85,A90 and A95,sound is similar in the mid bass/midhigh
85 is the worse,FOR ME,because bass is more weak and is less transparent and little roll off vs A90.With my surprise A90 is the best of the 3 because has bass deeper and high more transparent and less roll off than other 2.
A 95 has less deep bass and little roll off,so seems deep bass and top high are cut

I was very surprised because i was sure A95 was the best

Classic is the worse in every parameter,i don't like a lot,

But big surprise for me is Gold Reference
I found this better than other because bass is deep,high is shining more than others and mid is similar quality and is the more balanced and mid bass has not the full presence of others
Synergy is similar to Gold Reference ,but with less quality

This is only a fast trial of 2 hours and explained with simple and poor word
 

shakti

Well-Known Member
May 9, 2015
1,437
2,383
480
Cologne, Germany
I had some of the SPU you listened to today as well and I cannot fully confirm your findings.
The recommended Impedance is different for the variety of SPU
https://www.ortofon.com/media/14936/spu-collector-box-booklet.pdf
if you use 10x DC Resistance as a starting point for every individual SPU, you will here more differences.
(Using the "Current" input on the CHP P1 makes it easy, as no individual set up is needed)

Personally I like the SPU together with a step up transformer, like the SPU dedicated Hashimoto.

My A90 was a class better with the Hashimoto!
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
412
1,210
Northern NY
I agree with David...my SPU 85, 90, 95 exhibit no roll off and are full frequency with their own distinct flavors and mine are nowhere near broken in yet. I’m still learning to recognize their individual characteristics from one another....a lengthy process.
 

ALF

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2012
531
243
955
Southwest
Hello Gian,

Thank you for the report on your nice selection of the SPU machines! I will look forward to your future observations and thoughts!

Cheers!
ALF
 

jeff1225

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2012
3,007
3,248
1,410
51
I had Ron over a few days ago and we listened to the Ortofon 85 and several other cartridges. We heard no roll off, it excelled with both classical and rock.
 

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
2,503
1,943
343
I wrong to explain due to my poor English

I have Atlas sl,Opus 1 and GFS with very good high frequencies,so i always listen this cartridges and spu,that i like and listen sometimes,has no this extension
 

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