Ortofon

Ortofon headshell mounted to curved, tangential arm. Stereophile.com.

Not many manufacturer's get it, but it takes effort to make a product interesting and attractive to make us want to use it. I'm looking at my Lyra Clavis DC, which I've kept, even though the cantilever is gone, and I can't find another in the Lyra catalogue that I find interesting. Delos is "Westworld" and Atlas is aspirational - fans of anti-Muslim warfare will appreciate the asymmetry, while fans of Charles Atlas and bodybuilding will likely not. Chinese customers will find the Jade, perhaps appealing.

Ortofon gets it with their SPU A95. It's piano black and white invites usage, even to those who don't know what a cartridge is. Their design is so Berliner, out of the best hotel in the 1920's. You are invited to lift it up, and move it. Something interesting may result.





Can we ask anything more of our design other that it invite us to use the product?

Can we ask anything of our writers than to make their writing appealing? Art Dudley does it with mentioning every model in the Jaguar lineup up front, making us think this is a Jaguar turntable cartridge.We can see the Jaguar's lines, the cat ready to pounce, in the Ortofon A95 cartridge. Thanks, AD!

We admire AD, and we admire Maybach.

The Ortofon A95 is Made in Germany, and the quality really comes out. You may have issues with it, but we see it as it is. We say it is a nice thing, because we admire it. You can get their SPU Royal GM for 2000 euros and the A95 for not much - about 1/10th the price of a pair of Maybach Monarch (€2500) - not bad for a piece of history.