Sounds and Flavours of Ortofon SPU Stereo Cartridges
I often get asked “what do Ortofon SPU cartridges sound like”? That’s quite a difficult one to answer because they all sound different in one way or another, but the easy answer to the question is that SPUs do generally have a big, bold, exuberant and musically exciting character. They do tend to give you a great big, joyful musical hug.
SPUs are unashamedly old-fashioned things, and their history goes back to the Ortofon mono ‘pickup heads’ of the early 1950s, with stereo following in the late 1950s (Ortofon’s DSS 571 stereo cutting head appeared in 1957). The SPU (stereo pick-up), designed by Robert Gudmandsen was first launched in 1957 and it was quickly adopted in professional broadcast organisations, as well as for domestic listening. The SPU has been constantly refined from that point onwards, and while the original name referred to stereo pick-ups, we now have mono SPUs as well. No need for confusion since SPUs are instantly recognisable from their shell designs, whether stereo or mono!
SPUs are designed mostly with relatively unfashionable tip profiles and with tracking forces up to 4g, which seems to terrify people used to modern cartridges typically tracking at half that force. Some automatically assume that such high tracking force must necessarily mean increased wear of LP grooves but as long as the tonearm is set up correctly, and the cartridge tip and records are kept as clean as possible, groove wear should not be significantly worse than with lighter tracking forces. Ortofon have produced a useful guide to setup here https://www.ortofon.com/support/support-hifi/faq-installation .
Anyone who listens to a wide range of cartridges will probably understand that the sound and character of any given product is not necessarily dictated by the tip profile, nor indeed any one aspect of the design. It is the whole that matters and therein lies the musical magic of Ortofon SPUs, which exists whether we are looking at the entry-level SPU#1S model with its bonded spherical stylus, or the SPU Royal GM with its sharp Replicant tip. Each SPU variant has its own subtly different sound and character that builds on the essential vibrancy and musicality at the core of the original SPU design, and there is something to please anyone, at prices ranging from £489 to a whisker under £4k for the very limited edition (and sold out) SPU Century.
In my opinion and experience, SPUs perform best with a moving coil step up transformer (SUT) – I’ve yet to hear an active MC phono amp that can really liberate SPUs and bring out their natural colour and exuberance. Most SPU models will work pretty well with a SUT having 1:20 gain ratio, such as Ortofon’s own SUTs, but the lower output models do rather come to life when paired with a SUT of 1:26 or higher.
Ortofon SPUs are all heavy, very low compliance, highly ‘energetic’ designs, and these factors do mean that tonearm choice is important. In essence, to get the best from SPUs, you need a substantial high effective mass tonearm that is also very good at dealing with the high levels of physical energy that any SPU throws back into the arm structure. Ideally, look for effective mass in excess of 20g, but natural resonance control is equally important (this is not the same as damping, which often stifles the sound of a tonearm/cartridge combination). My preferred torture test for a tonearm is to put the SPU#1S on the end – this is the least well-behaved SPU but in a heavy, well behaved tonearm, it gains real refinement as well as impressive tracking. The SPU#1S can sound pretty ghastly in a light, flimsy tonearm! Recently, I’ve been playing with the new GrooveMaster 4 tonearm and the lowly SPU#1S managed to exceed its maker’s stated tracking performance by a substantial margin, a performance not seen in any other tonearm. Many high mass vintage tonearms work well with SPUs, but we do recommend all GrooveMasters, Glanz, and the new Ortofon AS-212R and AS-309R arms which were clearly designed with SPUs in mind.
We aim to have pretty much all current production SPU models in stock, except for the niche mono 78rpm versions, for next day UK delivery – this avoids Ortofon’s current 6-8 weeks delay that applies to most models here in the UK. Ammonite Audio is one of the few UK SPU Specialist dealers with actual stock across most of the Ortofon SPU range. If you see SPUs listed on other retailers’ websites, do verify that they hold actual stock for immediate despatch.
So, here is my take on the current production Ortofon SPU stereo cartridges, starting with the lowest priced variant.
The SPU#1S is a true SPU, in that it has a big, bold, colourful and expressive character and it’s properly musical too – listening to classical ensemble music this entry-level SPU does let you hear what’s going on in terms of space, ambience, musical textures and interplay between musicians. It’s very enjoyable, but the bonded spherical tip does not excavate every bit of detail from the groove and it could not really be described as very refined – that’s not to say that it’s rough sounding, but the SPU#1S is certainly not a sweetie, rather it excels on punch, rhythm, colour and musical dexterity. In effect, the SPU#1 models are built down to a low price, which means a bonded tip (higher tip mass than Classic models’ nude tips) and less well specified suspension dampers etc. Art Dudley wrote a nice little review in Stereophile that summed the SPU#1S rather nicely, and that review can be read here https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-168-ortofon-spu-1s-phono-cartridge
The SPU#1E is the same cartridge as the SPU#1S but fitted with an elliptical tip, but still a relatively massy bonded tip. So, the essential character is there but the slightly finer tip profile does bring forward a touch more detail, compared with the spherical tip of the SPU#1S. Art Dudley, in his Stereophile review of the SPU#1S, also reflected on the SPU#1E and noted that it had greater sense of air, spatial depth and detail, although he also thought that the SPU#1S had a touch more punch and dynamics. I’d go along with those descriptions – the SPU#1E still has a big, up-front exuberant musical personality but some of that is traded for extra detail, compared to the SPU#1S. Which to choose? This is horses for courses and I think most people will prefer the extra detail and air that the SPU#1E gives, but there is something innately musical about the SPU#1S that’s hard not to love, and for what it’s worth I lean towards the SPU#1S. Both are great musical performers at notably sensible prices.
SPU GTX S and SPu GTX E (£949/£999)
The latest SPU GTX models bring back an old idea – place step up transformers inside the SPU G shell to lift the cartridge output up to a moving magnet (MM) level of 4mV. So, these GTX cartridges are designed to work with a MM phono stage, and significantly MM stages are often the best sounding, so all good. Inside the shells, the GTX models are rather similar to the entry-level SPU#1 models, with unfashionable bonded tips – spherical in the case of the SPU GTX S, and elliptical in the case of the SPU GTX E. The actual shell is different, being moulded using a glass fibre reinforced material, also with the bottom cover moulded from the same material. So, the GTX shell should be much stiffer.
So, how do these cartridges sound? Unsurprisingly, the basic sound character is much like the SPU#1 models, which is very much a Good Thing, but the built-in transformers are clearly very good and the GTX models display a wonderful musical joie do vivre that the regular SPUs only achieve when paired with very good, and mostly very expensive, separate step up transformers. These GTX models are really a joy to listen to, and represent a bit of an audiophile bargain, given the quality of those built-in transformers. Like the SPU#1 models, they are not ‘detail monsters’ but their ability to dig out musical nuance and energy is utterly captivating.
Downsides? Only one, which is weight – the SPU GTX models weigh a hefty 38g, so do check you tonearm’s weight limits
Before the SPU#1 models this is where Ortofon’s stereo SPU range used to start. The SPU Classic G MkII is electrically and mechanically very similar to the cheaper models but here you do get a nice nude spherical stylus tip and much better specified suspension components and quality control. All of that means a cartridge that has the classic SPU characteristics of big, colourful, dynamic and expressive sound, coupled here with much better refinement and finesse – better manners, if you like. You’ll notice that with acoustic cues such as a sense of the recorded space, imaging and compared to the bonded tipped SPU#1S there is better detail, with noticeably better tracking performance too . The SPU Classic G MkII is a proper music maker that will rock as well as anything, and still at a sensible price.
The SPU Classic G E MkII is basically the same cartridge as the SPU Classic G MkII but here fitted with a nude elliptical tip. That means these two cartridges share the same character but the elliptical tip of this cartridge does really bring out more detail, not just in terms of a more extended top end, but in terms of spatial and imaging cues, refinement and delicacy as well. You do really hear that in the SPU Classic G E MkII which is a true audiophile bargain.
SPU Meister Silver G MkII £1599
This is where SPU design progresses from the Classic GM models, starting with a better and smarter glossy black shell design. The SPU Meister Silver has, as its name suggests, silver internal coils but it also has a lower mass nude tip compared to the Classics, and subtly different electrical characteristics. This all adds up to a cartridge that has audibly improved tracking performance and a more brightly lit sound character. It is still very much an old-fashioned SPU at heart, but one that really shines more of a spotlight on high frequency details and it’s a great choice for someone who wants to hear the finest musical details and prefers a ‘lighter’ overall character. But, it’s still very much an SPU with all of the musical verve and energy that characterises the breed.
This one puzzled me at first because it’s slightly higher priced than the SPU Meister Silver but lacks that model’s silver coils. Like the Meister Silver, the Synergy has a low mass nude elliptical tip, but electrically it’s different in having a rather higher output of 0.5mV with low coil impedance closer to that of the Classic models. The Synergy also tracks at a modest (for SPUs) 3.5g. What does all this add up to? Well, this one’s a bit of a shocker in that it has typical SPU power, balanced with delicacy and the most wonderfully ‘organic’ and expressive, ordered musical nature. You hear precisely how instruments are played, and where they are being played within the recorded acoustic. The overall sound is perhaps not so extended at the top end as with the Meister Silver, but it’s beautifully balanced and the Synergy tracks beautifully too. I liken the SPU Synergy G MkII to an accomplished musician who knows that she/he is very good, but has no need to shout nor brag about that. The Synergy is a stunning musical performer that draws you in to performances like few other cartridges do. This one is a high-end bargain and truly a cartridge to love with heart as well as head, and a bit of a bargain too; it needs a bit of thought regarding phono amp matching because of the relatively high output combined with low coil impedance, but get that right and this is a wonderful sounding, immensely musical cartridge.
The SPU Royal GM MkII is alone in the SPU range in having relatively modern electrical characteristics coupled with a sharp profiled Replicant nude line contact tip. The 7 ohm coil impedance means it works ideally into a 1:20 gain SUT or a standard 100 ohm MC phono amp input; and its 3g tracking force is not scarily high. Other notable features include gold plated silver coils and a shiny black wood/resin composite shell. So, a bit more contemporary in terms of design. That does hint at how the SPU Royal GM sounds – it is far more refined than most other SPUs and that Replicant tip does dig out detail from the grooves more effectively than other SPUs. While it is still an SPU at heart, some of that characteristic SPU boldness is toned down and for many people used to more modern ‘in your face’ sounding cartridges, the SPU Royal G offers a much smoother and more ‘traditional analogue’ take on things, but still maintaining the core SPU virtues of great musical flow and communication; and its midrange character is just lovely. The Replicant tip not only does a great job of excavating fine detail from the grooves, but it’s quiet in the groove too. The SPU Royal G MkII is a great cartridge for someone who likes the detail and precision of modern cartridges, but wishes to have a smoother, warmer and more refined character that does not compromise on those fine details. Still very much an SPU, perhaps the most ‘accessible’ SPU variant, and still one that drags the listener into the music in a way that most modern MC cartridges might not, still at a sensible price. Also available as the SPU Royal N, without the fixed shell, at lower cost.