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Need help identifying Ortofon cart....

broomdust

broomdust

Member
Hello,
I purchased a junky plastic Technics TT at my local thrift. I've already gutted the deck but there was a mystery(to me) Ortofon cart with no stylus.

The cart looks similar to an ADC QLM, so from looking online trying to find a visual match, it appears to be a Ortofon VMS. Just a guess.

There are no identifying marks on the cart other than "Ortofon Denmark" and "Several Patents" in two slots on the very top of the cart. No Numbers.

First, is this a good cart? Second, is it worth trying to get a new stylus?

From what I gathered online, the cart is standard and the styli can be upgraded multiple times.

Any help would be appreciated,
thanks,
mark.
 
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Yes pics would be helpful since your description is kind of fuzzy. I'm not aware of any older Ortofon's that look like any ADC's especially the one you compared it to. I will say this without the original stylus it's gonna be hard to pinpoit just exactly which Ortie it is.
 
A picture would really help. Seriously.
I do have an Ortofon VMS10E MKII and an ADC QLM30 MKII. I think those model numbers are correct. Anyway, the bodies look kinda similar. The Ortofon has a unique way in which the stylus fits into the body. The body has four pins plus a spot above them where a plastic shank on the stylus assembly fits into the body. From what I recall you can substitute different stylii from the same VMS series carts in order to improve the cartridge. But there are other VMS carts that look like the stylii might fit, but they don't. It's really hard to tell without a picture. Could you at least link to an online picture that looks like your cartridge?

Edit: And yes my Ortofon has the same markings on top. And it is a decent cartridge and worth finding a stylus for, if we are talking about the same cart. but be aware, somebody here recently splurged on a NOS stylus for his and didn't think it was worth the money, so YMMV.
 
Last edited:
broomdust said:
Sorry, can't provide pics.

Asking a question is never a worthless venture!

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Well we may have and share a lot of knowledge but known of us are mind readers. Plus without the original stylus you'll have a tough time finding out what model it is.........
 
Yes without pics a positive ID is not likely to happen, I'd suggest you look through pics of Ortofon cartridges over on the vinylengine site, probably their cartridge database might be a good place to start. FWIW sounds like a VMS or FF model to me.
 
Thanks for the info everyone!

I was able to verify from various sources, including an AK member, that it is in fact an Ortofon VMS.

I'll put it in the time capsule.......
 
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