Ortofon OM vs OMB?
- Thread starter Athalwolf
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
OMB is OM Bulk package. These are sold to turntable manufacturers and service shops.
beatcomber
AK Member
Message from 'catman,' who is unable to post here:
‘The Ortofon OM and the OMB cartridges are functionally and physically the same, and will accept any stylus designed for the OM or similar range. The ‘B’ refers to ‘bulk’ as are often supplied in OEM applications.
It is a very good cartridge, however it is slightly different to the upgraded ‘Super OM’ series which looks the same but features a slightly different magnetic generator assembly and higher inductance coils.
The OM/OMB cartridge sounds its best at 47 k and around 400 to 500 picofarads capacitance loading (overall), at which it has a good balanced sound with good bass and a crisp, but pleasant treble. On mine I use the ‘10’ stylus which tracks optimally at 1.5 grams. A very nice cartridge with very good sound quality and excellent stereo separation. Regards, Felix aka catman.’
‘The Ortofon OM and the OMB cartridges are functionally and physically the same, and will accept any stylus designed for the OM or similar range. The ‘B’ refers to ‘bulk’ as are often supplied in OEM applications.
It is a very good cartridge, however it is slightly different to the upgraded ‘Super OM’ series which looks the same but features a slightly different magnetic generator assembly and higher inductance coils.
The OM/OMB cartridge sounds its best at 47 k and around 400 to 500 picofarads capacitance loading (overall), at which it has a good balanced sound with good bass and a crisp, but pleasant treble. On mine I use the ‘10’ stylus which tracks optimally at 1.5 grams. A very nice cartridge with very good sound quality and excellent stereo separation. Regards, Felix aka catman.’
Hello beatcomber,
I thought exactly the same thing but recently i bought a used OMB and they are not the same even if they look almost identical.
The sound of the OMB is louder and much better quality in my opinion.
There's also a phisical difference, you can see in the photo that the metal part is different, the OMB has a kind of "elliptical" shape and the OM is more "round" shaped.
Does anyone have an answer for this? Or maybe i just but the best and unique OMB cartridge in the world lol
Attachments
Crab33
Super Member
In response to the last question, could it be that those OM and OMB cartridges come from different generations of OM cartridges? I think there was an old type with a stylus with solid nose (like the older LM cartridges) and a newer type with the current stylus with a cut-out in the nose. The later styli fit the old bodies but the earlier styli don't fit the later bodies.
To the OP, I find that I prefer the basic OM body with some styli and the Super-OM body with others. I see that you already have a Super-OM40 and I think it would be worth trying the 40 stylus on the basic body - you may find it less bright. Regarding capacitive load, I prefer the Super-OM body with low capacitance (less than 300pF) to avoid brightness but the OM body with higher capacitance (more like 300-400pF).
To the OP, I find that I prefer the basic OM body with some styli and the Super-OM body with others. I see that you already have a Super-OM40 and I think it would be worth trying the 40 stylus on the basic body - you may find it less bright. Regarding capacitive load, I prefer the Super-OM body with low capacitance (less than 300pF) to avoid brightness but the OM body with higher capacitance (more like 300-400pF).
