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New Stylus or New Cart? OMB10 v Super OM10

S

sssand2

Active Member
All,
I currently have an Ortofon OMB 10 that is > 10 years old. I was debating about getting a new stylus for it but was wondering if the Super OM10 is enough better to warrant buying it instead. Has anyone compared an older OM series cart to the Super OM at the same level (i.e. OM10 vs Super OM10)?
I will be using this cart on either my Dual 1219 or my Dual CS-606. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Steve
 
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Spoke to the Ortofon distributor up here and he said there was a difference, but it is VERY slight. You would probably be much better off getting and OM20 or OM30 stylus for the body you have right now. That will make a FAR bigger difference than going to the super.
Good luck!
Erik
 
Erik,
Thank you for the information. I believe I read this somewhere, but it is nice to have the confirmation. I actually am considering moving to at least an OM 20.

Steve
 
I had an OM 20 for 17 years, and went to an OM 10 Super because I wasn't able to afford an OM 20 stylus replacement. I properly aligned the OM 10 Super, and it sounds better than the OM 20 ever did! Getting an OM 20 stylus for your cart and properly aligning it with a printed gauge will sound absolutely magnificent on any TT, Steve. Go for the 20 stylus! :thmbsp:
Tom
 
Tom,
Thanks for the info. Luckily, my ULM Duals (CS-506-1 and CS-606) came with gauges which did a very good job of helping me to align this cart and set the VTA. If I do get the OM20 stylus, I'll have an interesting dilema. My plan was to put the OM10 on my CS-606 and take the Shure M97xE that is on it and put it on the Dual 1219. If I go to the OM 20, these two should be very comparable. I guess I'll have to put them through their paces on the 1219 and use the one I like the best on it :banana: :music: .

Steve
 
Steve, I found that my Dual-supplied gauge is a piece of $hit, especially if you're talking about that "L"-shaped thingy with the notches in it. :yuck: Go here instead: http://www.vinylengine.com/manuals_tonearm_protractors.shtml
I recommend the Baerwald Stupid one. Made my low-buck 1257 sound terrific.

Strawman, an OM 10 Super will have the word "Super OM" printed on the spindle side of the cartridge, and the model number "10" on the stylus itself, all in white printing :) An older plain OM series will just say "OM".

Tom
 
Tom,
I bought a mirrored protractor from Turntablebasics. It turns out that I was able to get very good results with the L-shaped gauge Dual supplied. Perhaps I was lucky using it. One thing I didn't notice before is that the Ortofon is supposed to have a 20 deg angle (VTA) where as some others use a 15 degree. I never played with this. I basically set the stylus where the gauge showed. I'll have to try measuring this angle to see if it makes a difference.

Steve
 
sssand2 said:
Tom,
I bought a mirrored protractor from Turntablebasics. It turns out that I was able to get very good results with the L-shaped gauge Dual supplied. Perhaps I was lucky using it. One thing I didn't notice before is that the Ortofon is supposed to have a 20 deg angle (VTA) where as some others use a 15 degree. I never played with this. I basically set the stylus where the gauge showed. I'll have to try measuring this angle to see if it makes a difference.

Steve
Click to expand...
Get that angle right and your treble will sound gorgeous. I didnt measure mine, but I had to add shims in the front to at least make the cart ride level; the rear end was dragging and tilting down, as the 1257 has no arm height adjustment, and when the tonearm is level, the stylus is LOWER than platter height!. As soon as I leveled mine, the treble suddenly went from okay to magnificent.

There are a bunch o' threads here discussing the pros and cons of alignment. Look 'em up; you won't regret it.

Tom
 
Mine just says" OM 10" with a big red dot on the top slant face. Looks and sound very good to me tho.
 
That's fine:thmbsp: This is from http://www.needledoctor.com/s.nl/sc.7/category.-109/it.A/id.274/.f
"OM Series- The new Super OM cartridges have been designed on the basis of Ortofon's lightweight moving magnet system - originally introduced in the OM (Optimum Match) Series - with two major refinements. By means of advanced computer simulation methods, it has been possible to define the natural pivot point of the system with unprecedented accuracy while achieving an optimum oscillation balance. This translates into improved linearity, higher channel separation, and reduced distortion.

In addition, Ortofon has succeeded in developing a technique by which to slit the less than 1 mm diameter hollow pole pins, thus significantly reducing eddy current losses caused by magnetic hysteresis. This sophisticated technology extends the frequency range and improves phase linearity. The cartridge body is manufactured from a Noryl plastic/glass combination, which ensures high rigidity, and freedom from resonances."

Not actually much difference, I feel; proper alignment will give much more of an improvement:yes:

Tom
 
My OM 10 (regular, not Super) sounds just great. It can track anything (warps are a breeze) and has a great midrange and treble. It's a steal, especially for about $30 on eBay for the whole cartridge and stylus.
 
If it was a P mount cartridge it would be called, for example, Ortofon OMP 10.
The selection of standard cartridges is better.
 
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Anyone familiar with the Ortofon 14 stylus? There are a couple people selling them BIN on eBay for $20ish. I'm thinking of buying one for my Concorde 10 cart, but would like a little more information first.
 
Re: The Ortofon 14 stylus. It is intended ONLY for the P-mount cartridge ortofon makes. You can check their website for more information.
 
So when the Ortofon site says "All stylus units for the different lines, are completely interchangeable within their own series" does that mean I can only use the 10/20/30 since they were used on new Concorde carts, or could I also use a 5E or a 40 since they were also used with the related OM line?
 
I was under the distinct impression that any OM stylus will fit any OM body. I haven't been able to access Ortofon's website in months.
Tom
 
foetusized said:
So when the Ortofon site says "All stylus units for the different lines, are completely interchangeable within their own series" does that mean I can only use the 10/20/30 since they were used on new Concorde carts, or could I also use a 5E or a 40 since they were also used with the related OM line?
Click to expand...

The OM's are all interchangable. From the 5 to the 40.
Erik
 
Thanks for the advise. I decided to skip on the 14 stylus and continue to use the 10 on my Concorde, and spent the money on a Shure M97xE instead, to add to the growing cartridge collection.
 
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