Ortofon - MC X10 Phono Cartridge

The entry point to Ortofon’s newest moving coil range, on a metal-injection-moulded honeycomb stainless steel frame.

Every MC X shares one architecture: a honeycomb-structured stainless steel frame produced by metal injection moulding, a magnet system built around a one-piece pole cylinder and rear magnet yoke, custom-developed rubber dampers and high-purity silver coil wire. All five share 0.4mV output, 0.5dB channel balance, 6 ohm internal impedance, a 2.0g recommended tracking force and an 8.6g body. What separates the models is stylus profile, cantilever material, channel separation and compliance.

The X10 lays the foundation, in Ortofon’s words, with a refined elliptical diamond at r/R 8/18 µm on an aluminium cantilever. It is the only MC X with a bonded rather than nude tip, and the only one whose frequency response tolerance is ±2dB rather than ±1dB — a genuine published difference rather than an error, and worth stating plainly.

Compliance is 13 µm/mN, the lowest in the range. Load it above 50 ohms. Everything else — the honeycomb frame, the one-piece pole cylinder magnet system, the silver coils, the 0.4mV output and 6 ohm impedance — is shared with the models above it.

Features

• Ortofon’s entry-level MC X moving coil cartridge
• Elliptical diamond, r/R 8/18 µm, on an aluminium cantilever
• Honeycomb-structured stainless steel frame made by metal injection moulding
• High-purity silver coil wire
• Magnet system built around a one-piece pole cylinder and rear magnet yoke
• 0.4mV output, 6 ohm internal impedance, 8.6g, 2.0g tracking force
• Load above 50 ohms

Specifications

• Type: Moving coil stereo cartridge
• Output Voltage: 0.4mV at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: 0.5dB
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: 24dB
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, ±2dB. Note this is a wider tolerance than every other MC X model, which are all ±1dB
• Compliance: 13 µm/mN, dynamic lateral — the lowest in the MC X range
• Stylus Type: Elliptical — bonded, not nude. The step to the X20 is nude mounting rather than a different tip geometry
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Stylus Suspension: Ortofon exclusive
• Cantilever: Aluminium
• Coil Wire: High-purity silver
• Magnet System: One-piece pole cylinder with rear magnet yoke
• Recommended Tracking Force: 2.0g
• Internal Impedance, DC Resistance: 6 Ω
• Recommended Load Resistance: Greater than 50 Ω
• Cartridge Body Material: Metal-injection-moulded stainless steel with a honeycomb core structure
• Colour: Black
• Cartridge Weight: 8.6g
• Stylus Replacement: Ortofon states plainly that the styli in moving coil cartridges are non-replaceable, so there is no swap-in stylus for this cartridge. What Ortofon runs instead is an Exchange Service through participating authorised dealers: a worn or damaged MC cartridge — any condition, bought anywhere — is taken in at 25% of the current list price against the purchase of a new Ortofon cartridge of equivalent or better model. Note that is a credit against a new purchase, not a repair price. Ortofon also runs a separate Repair Service for out-of-warranty MC cartridges
• Tonearm Matching: Ortofon publishes no recommended tonearm effective mass for this model. Its general guidance is that an arm of 10g effective mass or below counts as low mass and 11 to 25g as moderate mass, that high mass requires low compliance and vice versa, and that the target is a cartridge and arm system resonance between 7 and 12Hz, with 10Hz recommended
• Stylus Life: Ortofon rates its styli at up to 1000 hours with proper care. This is a general figure across the range rather than a per-model specification
• Origin: Ortofon A/S of Nakskov, Denmark. Ortofon states that all its cartridges are designed and crafted in Denmark
• Warranty: Ortofon publishes no warranty period for its moving coil cartridges on its own site. Ortofon Inc. covers cartridges bought from an authorised US dealer for one year against defects in workmanship and materials, excluding expendable items
• Not Published: Channel separation at 15kHz; frequency range as distinct from frequency response; tracking ability at 315Hz; tracking angle; and any tracking force range — Ortofon gives a single recommended figure only. The MC X specification tables are materially shorter than those for Ortofon’s older ranges, and any listing quoting those figures for an MC X is using invented or third-party data