Ortofon Concorde Music Black

The Concorde Music Black is the top model in Ortofon's Concorde Music HiFi cartridge range, sitting above the Bronze, Blue and Red. Like the rest of the series it pairs a moving magnet generator with the iconic Concorde body shape, an integrated cartridge and headshell that fits any S-shaped tonearm using the standard bayonet connector and requires no tools or alignment when mounted.

Stylus and cantilever

The Black uses a Nude Shibata diamond mounted on an aluminium cantilever. The Shibata profile has a narrow, elongated contact area that sits closer to the original cutting stylus than elliptical or spherical shapes, giving accurate tracking, low distortion and an extended high-frequency response. Tracking force is 1.8 g and the stylus tracks 80 µm at 315 Hz.

Generator system

Inside the body sits Ortofon's quad-coil moving magnet generator, with four split pole pins and silver-plated oxygen-free copper coil wire. Output is 6 mV at 1 kHz (5 cm/sec), channel separation is 26 dB and channel balance is held to 1 dB at 1 kHz. Recommended load is 47 kΩ in parallel with 150 to 300 pF.

Suspension and body

The stylus suspension uses Ortofon's own rubber compounds, developed and produced in-house at the Nakskov factory. The cartridge body is a polymer and brass construction, weighs 18 g and presents a 20° vertical tracking angle.

Upgrade path

The whole Concorde Music range shares a common body, so the stylus alone can be swapped to step up or down within the series. The Black accepts every Concorde Music stylus, including the limited Concorde Music Black LVB 250 anniversary stylus, simply by pulling the old stylus off and pressing the new one into place.

In the box

The cartridge ships with a stylus brush and a rubber ring. The rubber ring sits between the cartridge and the tonearm and prevents over-tightening of the bayonet collar.