Ortofon Rondo Blue Low Output MC phono cartridge

ORTOFON RONDO BLUE LOW OUTPUT MC PHONO CARTRIDGE
- 2013 Editors Choice Award The Absolute Sound March 2013 Issue 231

Ortofon has been producing moving coil cartridges since 1948. Each product typically has a longevity that span decades, a testament to the forethought, rationale, sound quality and subsequent customer loyalty that their products engender.

Rondo is the latest moving coil cartridge series to come out of this distinguished company. The new Rondo series harness the properties of carved wood to conjure cartridges that offer very low coloration and an enchantingly natural musical sound. Wood carving does not lend itself to acoustical consistency and high volume production hence the Rondos feature cartridge bodies made of especially selected powder blue wood suspended in a resin matrix that is injection-molded into shape. The bodies are made in Japan, where Ortofon also uses local artisans to lacquer each body with the respective color for each model in the Rondo line. Ortofon employs neodymium magnets in the Rondo cartridges to attain 0.5mV output. A very special genuine copper-wire with a two-layer gold plating is used for the armature windings. Aucurum, a material that shows excellent resistance to the corrosive elements from the environment, is used to stabilize the conductivity of the small number of armature windings.

Mounting of the Rondo cartridge is easy and firm using 2.5 mm screws threaded into the holes of the cartridge. Small bars on top of the base-plate make tilting of the cartridge within +/- 2 degrees possible for maximum channel separation.

The Ortofon Rondo Blue with its nude Fritz Gyger (FG) 70 stylus and aluminum cantilever is an amazingly clean performer. It is self-effacing and intimate without sounding obtrusive, harsh and etched. It sounds dynamic, expansive and panoramic. The extracted acoustics effortlessly flow to the sides and back of the speakers. Voices are enchantingly rendered and palpable. Bass notes are tight, taut and solid. Overall, it portrays the flow and ebb of music. Listen and be swayed.

Ortofon Rondo Blue MC Cartridge Specifications
- Frequency range: 20Hz-35kHz
- Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz +/- 1.5dB
- Output @ 1kHz, 5cm/sec: 0.5mV
- Channel balance @ 1kHz: +/- 1.5db
- Channel separation: @ 1kHz 25dB; @15kHz 18dB
- Compliance: 15 µm/mN
- Stylus type: Nude Fritz Gyger (FG) 70
- Stylus tip radii: .0002 x .0028 inch (7/70 µm)
- Cantilever: Aluminum
- Tracking force: 2.0 - 2.5 g
- Recommended tracking force: 2.3 g
- Tracking angle: 20°
- Internal impedance: 6 ohms
- Load impedance: 10 - 200 ohms, 50 ohms recommended
- Body material: Ground wood/resin composite
- Color: Blue
- Weight: 10.5 g
- Accessories included: Screws, screwdriver, stylus brush, headshell wire set

Reviews
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The Absolute Sound, Issue 199
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