Ortofon Verismo MC Phono Cartridge

Description

MY TAKE: The Ortofon Versismo has quickly become a favorite. It's true-to-life presentation, neutral tonal balance and exceptional dimensionality combine to place the Verismo in tyhe very top echelon of the moving coil cartridge work. Very highly recommended!
Side note: We often send our cartridges to J.R. Boisclar of Wally Analog for his Microscopic Stylus Cantilever Analysis, which we did for our Verismo. The accuracy of stylus-to-cantilever mounting on the Verismo was the best he had measured. This is testiment to the careful quality control we see from Ortofon. - Galen Carol

The Ortofon Exclusives Series of highest performing Moving Coil cartridges has now been expanded to include a new premier model – the MC Verismo -

The Ortofon Exclusives series cartridges are widely acknowledged as being some of the best Moving Coil cartridges on the market, and we are continuously working on expanding the Exclusives range to offer music lovers even more opportunities to experience the supreme quality, precision, impact and dynamics that a highend reference cartridge conveys.

The MC Verismo has been developed based on our extensive knowledge of vibration properties, different shapes and materials characteristics, as well as competences in magnetism, mechanical design and technologies. This new state-of-the-art product, representative of numerous Ortofon design ideals, is truly exemplary of the highest degree of performance possible in contemporary analogue playback technology. The MC Verismo will undoubtedly provide sound which simply has to be experienced.

The story behind the name -

The name Verismo is derived from the Italian “vero”, meaning “true” and is the Italian for "realism". Versimo was a post-Romantic operatic genre, that had its origins in an Italian literary movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Verismo's operatic tradition is associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini, who sought to portray the world with greater realism.

At Ortofon, our ultimate purpose is to continually raise the bar for true, faithful and accurate reproduction of the recorded sound. It is to provide the ultimate musical experience through a mixture of innovation and technical expertise, creating unique value for all listeners by allowing them to reveal music’s true inner emotions.

Design elements and high-end materials -

The housing of the Verismo cartridge is made in Titanium with the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technique pioneered by Ortofon. This technique allows for precise control of the density of the body material, allowing for extremely high internal damping.
The MC Verismo makes use of Ortofon’s Replicant 100 diamond. This Line Contact type stylus distinguishes itself by having a narrow and long contact surface, which is as close as possible to the original cutting stylus. This ensures the most accurate reproduction, lowest distortion and extended frequency range.
The addition of a solid Diamond cantilever provides the best possible interface between the stylus and armature, owing to its hardness and crystal structure. The improvements found in the use of a Diamond cantilever have redefined the boundaries of analogue reproduction, presenting greater inner detail, subtlety, and depth like never before.

Performance with a range of compatibility -

In the MC Verismo the cartridge’s contact with the tonearm takes place through three well-defined contact points placed on the top side of the cartridge. This means that the mechanical integration of the cartridge and the tonearm arm is always absolutely perfect and will result in a significant and breathtaking increase in dynamics, resolution, and richness in detail.

With optimized weight and moderate compliance to suit the majority of modern tonearms, the MC Verismo is easily compatible with an endless array of contemporary high-end turntable equipment.

REVIEWS:
 

The Absolute Sound Golden Ear Award 2022: "Sitting squarely in the empty spot between the Windfeld Ti and the top-line MC Diamond cartridge in Ortofon’s Exclusive Series, the company’s newest offering, the Verismo, fills the gap comfortably. Using Ortofon’s Selective Layer Melting (SLM) process, the Verismo’s body is made (layer by layer) of titanium to form a dense and rigid structure with high internal damping. Equipped with Ortofon’s Replicant 100 stylus, Aucurum coils, low-magnetic armature, and field stabilizing element, the Verismo has the added advantage of an upgraded Wide-Range-Damping (WRD) system. (WRD consists of a platinum disc sandwiched between two dissimilar rubber/multiwall-carbon-nanotube absorbers.) The Verismo has also inherited the diamond cantilever formerly only available on its flagship MC cartridge. With the new rubber formulation, WRD provides optimal damping and improved tracking abilities. As a result, the new Verismo tracks and traces grooves effortlessly, while providing an exceptional amount of perceived realism. The Verismo offers up the most truthful evenhandedness and musical transparency that I can recall from this manufacturer, surpassing my previous most-preferred Ortofon, the MC A95. The new rubber compound and diamond cantilever have taken the Verismo to new heights." - Andre Jennings
 

HiFi News: "Precision manufacturing, state-of-the-art materials and magnet technologies combine in this new addition to the ‘Exclusives’ MC range – the ultimate blend of art and science?

"...it (the MC Verismo - red.) is nothing short of sensational.

...The MC Verismo, too, is the coolestlooking cartridge I’ve seen

...Bless ’em: there was no doubt from the moment the stylus settled into the groove that I was in the presence of something not just special but memorable.

...Thus the MC Verismo ticked another box, if convincing portrayal is the ultimate objective: there was absolutely no element which sounded inconsistent with the rest of the sonic picture. Textures were so believable that I am sure seasoned musicians would be able to identify the makers of the instruments being played.

...the MC Verismo was responsible for one of the once-ayear-if-you’re-lucky moments..." - Ken Kessler

HiFi Test: "...It (the MC Verismo - red.) reveals such a disembodied lightness, such a successful detachment of the sound image from the speakers, as I have rarely experienced. I find the tonality perfectly straight, without even the slightest favoritism to any frequency region.

...The outstanding Ortofon Verismo is definitely one of the best cartridges of our time and sounds incredibly natural, delicate, balanced, and natural." - Holger Barske

Read the full review here: HiFi Test

Stereophile: "...the Verismo revealed its basic sonic character to be more similar to that of the Anna Diamond than the Windfeld Ti, with an overall "faster" sound featuring sharper, more finely drawn high-frequency transients yet with a lush and generous midrange and a somewhat tighter, nimbler, better-controlled bottom end—knit together into a coherent sonic package.

...It (the MC Verismo - red.) sings in a timbrally neutral voice that doesn't call attention to itself. On the finest true stereophonic recordings, the Verismo—like the Anna Diamond—deftly places well-focused, three-dimensional images in a natural-sounding space." - Michael Fremer

Read the full review here: Stereophile

HiFi Statement.net: "...The Verismo is in the best Ortofon tradition: It plays tonally balanced and coherently conveys a realistic illusion of space and spoils with a lot of details... the Ortofon Verismo, succeeds in combining harmony, details and feelings. And the Replicant 100 (diamond - red.) cut of the Verismo makes an old record sound like new: an absolute pleasure... the Verismo clearly shows the differences.

...The Verismo has all the positive features that you would expect from a high-end cartridge from Ortofon, including absolutely balanced frequency response, attention to detail, strong timbres, a widely extended spatial representation and good compatibility with quite different tonearms. In addition, the Verismo plays incredibly exciting and emotional. And then this speed – fantastic!" - Dirk Sommer

SPECIFICATIONS:

Output voltage at 1 kHz, 5cm/sec. 0.2 mV
Channel balance at 1 kHz 0.5 dB
Channel separation at 1 kHz 25 dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz 20 dB
Frequency response 20 Hz-20 kHz +2 dB/- 1 dB
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at recommended tracking force 80 µm
Compliance, dynamic, lateral 13 µm/mN
Stylus type Special polished Nude Ortofon Replicant 100 on Diamond Cantilever
Stylus tip radius r/R 5/100 µm
Tracking force range 2.5-2.8 g (25-28 mN)
Tracking force, recommended 2.6 g (26 mN)
Tracking angle 23°
Internal impedance, DC resistance 7 Ohm
Recommended load impedance  > 10 Ohm
Coil wire material Aucurum, gold-plated, 6NX oxygen free copper
Cartridge body material SLM Titanium
Cartridge colour Silver
Cartidge weight 9.5 g

SET UP:

Ortofon Setup Video

In this video, Leif Johannsen, Ortofon's Chief Acoustics and Development, explains how to set up and align your cartridge correctly, using the MC Verismo. Leif takes you through six main steps to make sure your cartridge performs its best so you can enjoy a full experience when listening to your favorite records.

Chapther overview:
02:34 - 1. Mounting the Cartridge
06:00 - 2. Vertical Tracking Force
08:52 - 3. Lateral Alignment
12:25 - 4. Azimuth
14:46 - 5. Cantilever Angle & Stylus Rake Angle
25:41 - 6. Anti-Skating
32:40 – Recap

The MC Verismo set-up and maintenance -

As with any cartridge, set-up is absolutely crucial in order to ensure the best sound reproduction capabilities. The cartridge makes the first and only contact with the record groove, picking up all the musical information. That's why the cartridge, is the key factor in your vinyl-based hi-fi system. 

In addition to alignment, consideration must be made to adjust azimuth, anti-skating and VTA/SRA in order to maximize the potential performance of any high-end cartridge.

Mounting -

There are 4 sets of screws included for mounting the cartridge to your tonearm. Itis of great importance to choose the correct length of screws when mounting the cartridge. Using too long screws may stop the screws inside the cartridge resulting in insufficient mounting in the headshell. The choice of screw length depends on the thickness of the headshell, and a maximum of 2.5 mm free screw length under the headshell. Mount the cartridge loosely to the headshell during this procedure.

Terminal connections -

Please correlate the colour code for the terminals on the drawing with the colour coding on the cartridge. The terminals for right and left channel have the same position as normal for Ortofon cartridges. We recommend the enclosed LW-7N leadwires to be mounted on the cartridge and tonearm before aligning and calibrating the cartridge. The length of the enclosed lead wires will fit a distance between cartridge and tonearm terminals of 35 mm, which will work with most headshells.

Azimuth adjustments -

In order to attain maximum channel separation, it may be possible to adjust the azimuth. Should the cartridge not be perfectly perpendicular to the record’s surface, the tonearm or headshell may require to be tilted a few degrees. Correct azimuth is established by observing the reflected image of the 2 parallel cartridge front lines. The cartridge’s front lines must form a straight line with the reflected lines. A flat mirror may also be used to facilitate this process.

Stylus Rake Angle (SRA) -

With a complex stylus shape like the Replicant 100, there must be special attention paid to positioning the diamond in the groove.

The Stylus Rake Angle (SRA - see figure) is very important to the performance of the Replicant 100 stylus, and the long contact surface (the sharp edge) of the diamond should be almost perpendicular to the record surface when viewed from the side.  The angle between the record surface and the cantilever is close to 23 degrees when SRA is 90 degrees.

A perfect starting point is to set the tonearm parallel to the record surface and to use the recommended tracking force. The contact surface will be close to perpendicular to the record surface with this setting. The SRA can now gradually and carefully be changed be adjusting VTF and, if necessary, the tonearm height. The target should be an SRA around 92 degrees, determined by the listening experience. In other words, the point of the stylus should point slightly towards the tonearm base.

Antiskating -

Correct bias or anti-skating adjustment is important in order to achieve optimal tracking ability and thereby minimum record wear and distortion. For the Ortofon Replicant stylus used in MC Verismo just set normal antiskating according to recommended tracking force.

Cartridge break-in -

Although the MC Verismo will provide top reproduction right out of the box, the cartridge may slightly change character during the first tens of hours of use. This is completely normal and you may, in fact, find that this adds further refinement to your listening experience.