On the 9th of October 2018, Ortofon celebrates 100 years specialising in the manufacture of phono pick-up cartridges. To celebrate this landmark Henley Audio are delighted to announce the newly developed MC Century limited edition cartridge model is now available in the UK. Inspired by previous Anniversary designs (such as the MC A90 and MC A95), the MC Century breaks new ground for Ortofon, the housing of the MC Century is made using Ortofon’s pioneering SLM technique in which fine particles of Titanium are welded together, layer-by-layer, to construct a single piece body. Using this technique, the density of the body can be precisely controlled, allowing for extremely high internal damping. The final result “provides absolute freedom from resonance, allowing the MC Century to perfectly suit a wide array of high-end tonearms.”
The MC Century makes use of a specially polished Ortofon Replicant 100 stylus whose profile boasts a thin and light shape, with a long vertical contact surface designed to be “as close as possible to an original record cutting stylus as possible”. For the first time, Ortofon have mounted the stylus onto a diamond cantilever with a crystal structure of exceptional density that ensures the best possible interface between a stylus and its armature. “This rare combination of stylus and cantilever delivers an extremely responsive and transparent sound performance thanks to its combination of a low moving mass with an extreme degree of rigidity.”
The stylus and cantilever are connected into a new generator system, heavily inspired by the MC Anna design, with iron-cobalt alloy applied in some parts. The precision moulded non-magnetic armature is very strong and rigid, and also benefits from extreme precision in each coil turn on all layers. The armature design then allows for a very well-defined interface with the rubber absorbers in the suspension system. Ultra-pure oxygen free copper (OFC) is employed throughout.
With an output impedance of 6Ω and a low-to-medium output voltage of 0.2mV, the MC Century is also easy to partner with most phono preamps and step-up transformers – including Ortofon’s own ST-80 SE model. Limited to only 100 pieces worldwide, the MC Century is Ortofon’s most expensive cartridge to date at £8,500.