Put the needle on the record - a brief history of the Concorde cartridge

The original concorde design was launched back in 1979, winning Ortofon a Danish Industrial Design award for its Low Mass integrated cartridge/headshell configuration. The simplicity and elegance of the slimline Concorde design allowed for direct connection to any tonearm with a standard bayonet mount, which of course included the industry standard Techincs SL1200 series turntable that had been released earlier in the same decade, made the cartridge a firm favourite for those seeking ease of use and high quality sound.

Fast forward to the mid 80's, and as the 1200 gained popularity with DJs and clubs across the globe, Ortofon realised that there was a huge demand for a specialist cartridge and stylus that would be suitable for the somewhat unconventional usage that DJs subjected their kit, and vinyl, too. The silver Concorde Pro and OM Pro combined superb audio quality with the ruggedness demanded by DJs who were spinning Hip-hop and club music, and were also scratching, launched in 1984. The Pro models had been designed with special features that allowed them to cope with the stresses placed on them by vibrating discotechques, where the SPL far exceeded that of the home HiFi systems of the time.

As the popularity of DJing boomed throughout the 80's and 90's Ortofon expanded the Concorde range to include cartridges and styli for specific applications, including the Nightclub which used an eliptical styli to hug the groove even when faced with the extreme SPL found in nightclubs around the world. With a focus on acoustics, materials technology and micro mechanics - Ortofon has used technological prowess to develop a range that includes carts and styli for timecode, digitisation, scratching and general DJ use.

Today Ortofon is a market leader when it comes to the production of cartridges and styli for both HiFi and DJ use. Ortofon's cartridges are of analogue concept, by comparison digital audio is limited by finite sampling frequency and resolution limits while analogue sound is unlimited. So while digital is the format of choice for storing large volumes of music the detail is often lost and can never be recovered. Only analogue records allow you to enjoy original music as the artists intended.

Concorde MKII - Evolution in sound

Ortofon have been listening to feedback from their customers since the launch of the Concorde with a view to continually improve the end product. The new Ortofon Concorde MKII boasts a range of technological improvements including a renewed cartridge shape with flowing lines, a larger stylus tip with an angled cut and a refined (exchangeable) handle with a tapered shape. With the exception of the new Concorde Club (which replaces the Nightclub) all of the MKII Concorde cartridges use spherical styli - these reduce vinyl wear and perform well under heavy back-cueing and scratching. The Club uses an eliptical styli to ensure it stays in the groove in environments where SPLs become extreme.

Concorde MKII versus MKI

There are some distinct differences between the Concorde MKII and MKI, we've created comparison tables below to highlight the key technical differences between the outgoing range and the equivalent replacements but we felt that there were some important changes which need to be mentioned. Firstly, the new MKII styli do not fit the old MKI cartridges. Secondly the new carts have removeable and replaceable handles, there's no need to replace your entire cartridge if you snap the handle. Lastly the range is reduced in number - many of the key specifications of the original Concorde where duplicated for different applications, the new range makes it far easier to choose a suitable cartridge.

It's also worth noting that only the OM Pro s and OM Q-bert headshell mounted cartridges remain current, all other OM variants are now discontinued.

Concorde MKII MIX replaces Concorde Pro and Pro S

The Concorde Mix replaces both the Pro and Pro S variants of the MKI concorde range, here's how they compare:

	MIX	Pro S	Pro
Stylus Type	Spherical	Spherical	Spherical
Tracking Weight	3.0 g	4.0 g	4.0 g
Output	6 mV	5 mV	5 mV
Frequency Range	20-20,000 Hz	20-18,000 Hz	20-20,000 Hz

Concorde MKII DJ replaces Concorde DJS

The Concorde DJ replaces the DJS variant of the MKI concorde range, here's how they compare:

	DJ	DJS
Stylus Type	Spherical	Spherical
Tracking Weight	4.0 g	4.0 g
Output	6 mV	7 mV
Frequency Range	20-20,000 Hz	20-18,000 Hz

Concorde MKII Club replaces Concorde Nightclub

The Concorde Club replaces the legendary Nightclub variant of the MKI concorde range. The Nightclub is widely regarded as the ultimate cartridge for use in club and festival environments, here's how the two models compare:

	Club	Nightclub
Stylus Type	Special Elliptical	Special Elliptical
Tracking Weight	3.0 g	3.0 g
Output	8 mV	8 mV
Frequency Range	20-20,000 Hz	20-20,000 Hz

Concorde MKII Scratch replaces Concorde Scratch

The Concorde Scratch replaces the Scratch variant of the MKI concorde range, here's how they compare:

	Scratch	MKI Scratch
Stylus Type	Spherical	Spherical
Tracking Weight	4.0 g	4.0 g
Output	7 mV	10 mV
Frequency Range	20-18,000 Hz	20-15,000 Hz

Concorde MKII Digital replaces Concorde Digitrak and S-120

The Concorde Digital replaces both the Digitrak and S-120 variants of the MKI concorde range, here's how they compare:

	Digital	Digitrak	S-120
Stylus Type	Spherical	Spherical	Spherical
Tracking Weight	4.0 g	3.0 g	4.0 g
Output	10 mV	8 mV	10 mV
Frequency Range	20-18,000 Hz	20-18,000 Hz	20-18,000 Hz