Ortofon Elektro?

[ao125]

Saw this on ebay this morning:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3072768334&category=48460

Now, I'm familiar with the Nightclub, DJ, and Pro models of DJ stylii, and use Pro's at home and when I spin out, but I've never even heard mention of the Elektro series before and I don't see anything about it on the Ortofon website... though DJmart.com seems to have them now.

Anyone have any feedback on them?

[SCHLiTZ]

I've never seen or heard anything about them, but they look pretty sweet, and LOUD.

[ao125]

The DJ Mart description says that they are built off of the Nightclub model, but louder... I wonder if louder would indeed be better, or would they pick up more garbage (dust, vibration, etc) and render themselves worthless...

[SCHLiTZ]

aside from looks though, the only difference between them and the nite clubs is the output level....

[ao125]

Originally posted by Schlitz
aside from looks though, the only difference between them and the nite clubs is the output level....

I may have to pick up a pair and try them out... unfortunately at <a href="http://www.sovereign-state.com">Overflow</a> we are limited by the vibration coming from the bubble pump in the bartop as to the range of stylii/carts we can use as there is MASS VIBRATION and it fucks up Phil (the logic theorist)'s final scratch calibration... so I'm thinking that the timecode would come through clearer if it were louder?

[Paul Dailey]

I think the main improvement in loudness comes from an increase in bass response. I am getting a pair sent to me for review in DJ Times....when the review is written, I will post up a link for you all to check out.

[Just Charlie]

i've never seen or heard of those.. weird. i wonder who uses them.

[ao125]

I was waiting for the Paul Dailey review, but I think I may spring for a pair next month.

[ao125]

OK... Results are in...

ORTOFON ELEKTRO STYLII ARE BADASS!!!

Setup:
Stanton H4 headshells
Ortofon nightclub headshell mount base
Ortofon elektro replacement stylii

Compared with:
Ortofon concord + blue DJ-E styii

Spiggy and I side-by-side compared the two and the results were staggering. Just playing into an JBL Eon, you could head a dramatic difference in sound quality. The Elektro was much richer and had more volume than the DJ-E.

No more Pro or DJ-E stylii for me... Elektro from here on out.

[T-Sizzle]

cool

[Paul Dailey]

Here is that review...as promised.

Ortofon Elektro Cartridge
Written by Paul Dailey – March 14, 2004

Walking into the main room at any major club, you are besieged by sensory overload. Lights accented by fog, haze and liquid nitrogen, cascade from the rafters, as the beats and bass being reproduced by untold quality loudspeakers bombard your ears. The décor is brilliant and the crowd is moving and swaying as if a single organism, feeding off one massive life source. Intense, engaging and even overwhelming, the world of a modern nightclub is compelling to say the least.

Ponder for a moment the old expression, that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and consider that this entire experience, in most instances, is being balanced (both literally and figuratively) on the tip of an apparatus smaller than a sewing needle. Considering the fragile nature of this condition, it is amazing to muse over how often nightclubs and DJs overlook the importance of using quality DJ Cartridges.

Since 1918, Copenhagen based, Ortofon has excelled in the design and production of high quality cartridges and have been at or near the top of the DJ oriented market since the introduction of their first “disco” cartridge back in 1984. The newest addition to their ever expanding line of products, the Elektro is yet another fantastic piece of gear.

Technically, the correct term for a phonographic cartridge is "transducer." A phonograph
record is a physical fact: a thing. A turntable produces physical motion, the spinning of a disc. But the pickup lives partly in the physical world of its vibrating stylus, and partly in the electrical world where all the rules are subtly different. It is the job of the pickup to transform the physical motions produced by the record, the turntable, the tone arm and the stylus into electrical signals containing the message from the recorded medium.

Many of the new pickups are smaller than the nail on your little finger, and most of them weigh less than five cents' worth of pennies. They are a triumph of miniaturization. The most difficult part of the job is mechanical. The pickup must hold the stylus tightly enough to keep it in the groove even when it is jolted hard by a strong low-frequency signal. At the same time, it must let the stylus swing freely within the groove. When there's a pause in the groove's modulations, the stylus must spring back firmly to dead center, without any extraneous vibrations. At the same time, it must comply effortlessly with the correct vibrations when the music begins again. Trying to accomplish this in the perfect audiophile world is difficult; trying to do so in the rough and rugged work of nightclubs, is even more impressive.

With more than eight designs, for a variety of applications, Ortofon is one of the most highly regarded providers of quality DJ cartridges in the world. Their product line features carts for a variety of applications (from scratching, to smooth mixing and general all-purpose use) and offer each design in Concorde (attach directly to the tone arm) and OM (which need to be mounted on an head shell) versions.

With the release of their newest design, the Elektro; the engineers at Ortofon have responded to the need for an even more robust and compelling cartridge. Based on the technical specs of the Night Club S, the Elektro has a recommended tracking force of 4 grams and an output of 7 mV (considerably more than any other DJ oriented cartridge on the market.) The rubber suspension of the cantilever has vastly improved the durability of this cart and the overall sound quality boasts increased bass response and a sonic image greater than that of the outstanding Night Club series.

Of course, all the specs and technical explanations in the world mean nothing if the product in question isn’t up to snuff in the field; it was about time to set up my new Elektro cartridges and got down to work.

I initially played around at home and as the documentation from Ortofon stated, these were very easy to set up and extremely stout carts. I tracked them at 4 grams of weight and half that in anti-skating and absolutely loved the results. In both the Concorde and OM version, the carts held the groove and sounded considerably better than my trusty Night Club carts and a pair of White Labels that I had on loan from a good friend. The Elektro’s had more bass response, stuck like glue during back cueing and basic scratching, and exuded the kind of strong, confidence that you need to have in your cartridges before you take them out in the field. They came through test number one with flying colors.

My next experiment involved my residency at Rise in Boston. With an outstanding set up and top-notch sound system (contained in a relatively small space), Rise is a great club and an outstanding proving ground for the next part of my field test. Mounted on extremely temperamental turntables, suspended from rubber tubing, my new Elektro’s performed flawlessly over a 5+ hour set. The sound quality was again impressive and the combination of bass heavy techno and the tight, transparent sound of these cartridges had me (and the rest of my crowd) in literal awe. They were strong and resilient, while still producing some of the best sound the room had ever heard. I was totally impressed with these cartridges from that first night and have used them every weekend since.

As with any number of accessories available to DJs, cartridges are really a personal choice. There are carts that sound fantastic, but create a great deal of vinyl wear. There are others that sound rather bland, but can withstand a ton of abuse. There are carts for scratching, mixing, listening and performing, but I have yet to find any that handle the preponderance of these tasks as effortlessly as the Ortofon Elektro. Turntablists will find carts on the market better suited for their needs. But if you spin House, Trance, Techno and want a sturdy, solidly built, amazing sounding DJ cartridge, you would be hard pressed to do better than the exceptional Ortofon Elektro.

[ao125]

Very cool... I just went to the DJ Times website looking to see if you had written a review and here it is... and I have to say I agree 100%.

My next test is going to be to pull the old headshell leads and put on a set of new AudioQuest ones from needledoctor.com

[technoticau]

what do the elektro styli look like? Are they compatible with the old Concorde cartridges? Would putting an elektro stylus on an old Concorde cartridge give you the same sound quality? I have no technical knowledge about how they work, but to me it seems like the styli make the sound difference. I feel like all the cartridges in Concorde line are the same. If someone could enlighten me about my theory I would highly appreciate it.

[Reese]

what do the elektro stylis look like? Are they compatible with the old Concorde cartridges? Would putting an elektro stylus on an old Concorde cartridge give you the same sound quality? I have no technical knowledge about how they work, but to me it seems like the styli make the sound difference. I feel like all the cartridges in Concorde line are the same. If someone could enlighten me about my theory I would highly appreciate it.


accprding to Ortofon all the concorde series are the same the only difference comes in the styliiI have been using them on a pair of Black concord integrated cart and a pair of silver OM series cart.
They sound great on both !
the integrated carts were previously mounted w/ nightclub stylii, and the OM were mounted w/ pro stylii

[The Jezereck]

still tryin to find these in the states, have givin the UK my money :)

[Mitaic]

it also looks like the elektro require a even higher tracking force of whopping 4 grams! (as opposed to 3 grams of other ortofons excluding the scratch)

http://www.ortofon.com/html/body_disco_coil_technical_data.html?varenr=0140116

[Busy Child]

are these better than whitelables?????

[technoticau]

It turns out I was right. Read the whole thread:

http://www.futureproducers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23023&perpage=8&pagenumber=1

And you can find the elektros on ebay. Also try google and the needle shops that come up as search-results

[The Jezereck]

It turns out I was right. Read the whole thread:

http://www.futureproducers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23023&perpage=8&pagenumber=1

And you can find the elektros on ebay. Also try google and the needle shops that come up as search-results

damn man that was some good readin thankz for the link

[Mitaic]

wow. awesome find. I posted several of those questions asked there and never found a good answer. There you go, the Ortofon guy (if he's really from there though not many reason not believing him) really answered them.

If some can only copy the entire thread as a text file for referenec...

[ao125]

still tryin to find these in the states, have givin the UK my money :)

http://www.djmart.com/oromsswhelki.html

[DJ ORI]

so from what ortofon guy was saying on the future producers board, if you already have ortofon carts then all you will really need is the electro stylus ($35) and not the electro cart($85)? or did i read something wrong? He mentioned some thing about the cartriges being the same on the inside.

[ao125]

Yes. All of the internals of every Concord and OM mount are the same. So putting a Nightclub stylus on a Pro body would give the Pro the same sound as a Nightclub w/ the same stylus.

I have my Elektro stylii mounted on a Pro OM mount and a Nightclub OM mount (obtained them at two different times) and they both sound exactly the same with the Elektro stylii on them.

[ao125]

I like the tip of cleaning the contacts with WD40... I'm going to have to try that.
Also it should be noted that even the Ortofon guy said licking/spitting on contacts was a no-no. People need to stop doing that.

[technoticau]

Wouldnt putting WD40 make more residue stick to the tip?

[ao125]

Depends.. it would definitely clean out any corrosion from people who have been licking the contacts... if you swabbed the internals afterwards, I doubt there would be much that would stick. I know Guitar Center sells electrical contact cleaner in a spray can, so I was going to start keeping both in my bag.

[Wickity]

be careful if you play out. When I played @ Alias, Nation security actually searched my bag and threw out shit, like my can of compressed air... :gotme:

[ao125]

I guess I'll have to hide them in Ed(Spiggy)'s ass then :yes:

[Wickity]

I dont' want to hear about your games of "hide and seek"... I've told you guys before, giving your ass rapings cute names, does not make me want to get involved.

[Mitaic]

I guess I'll have to hide them in Ed(Spiggy)'s ass then :yes:

you never know; he might just like it, too. :D

[ao125]

who am I to judge others... if he wants to smuggle the goods in for me, then more power to him... just so long as he washes them off afterwards.

[Elektronkind]

spray an end of some q-tips with WD40 and keep them in a ziploc in your gig bag for when you play out. Keep the other end dry.

wax on, wax off.

/dale