Ortofon Quintet Black S Moving Coil Cartridge

The Ortofon MC Quintet Black S sits at the top of Ortofon's Quintet moving coil series, above the Red, Blue, and Bronze models. Where the Bronze uses a fine-line diamond on an aluminium cantilever, the Black S upgrades to a nude Shibata diamond mounted on a sapphire cantilever — a combination that delivers wider groove contact, finer high-frequency tracing, and lower moving mass for improved transient response.

Shibata Stylus & Sapphire Cantilever

The Shibata profile (6/50µm tip radii) was originally developed for quadraphonic playback and is prized for its extended contact area with the groove wall. This slim, highly polished shape retrieves detail across the full frequency range, including the highest-frequency groove information that simpler profiles miss. Ortofon pairs the Shibata diamond with a sapphire cantilever, chosen for its rigidity-to-mass ratio — sapphire transmits stylus vibrations to the generator with minimal energy loss while keeping the moving mass low enough for accurate tracking at the recommended 2.3g downforce.

Generator & Electrical Design

The coils are wound from Aucurum wire, Ortofon's proprietary gold-plated copper conductor. Internal impedance is just 5Ω, making the Quintet Black S unusually tolerant of different phono stage and step-up transformer loads — any load above 20Ω is suitable. Output voltage is 0.3mV at 1kHz (5cm/sec), a standard level for MC cartridges that works well with most dedicated MC phono inputs. Neodymium magnets provide the magnetic field, contributing to the generator's efficiency and consistent output.

Construction

The cartridge body is made from ABS thermoplastic bonded to an aluminium mounting frame. The ABS material is scratch-resistant and provides effective damping of external vibrations, while the aluminium frame offers threaded mounting holes compatible with both 5mm and 7mm headshell screws for straightforward installation. Total cartridge weight is 9g, sitting comfortably within the effective mass range of most medium-compliance tonearms.

The Quintet Range

Ortofon's Quintet series comprises four models in ascending order: Red, Blue, Bronze, and Black S. Each step up brings a more refined stylus profile and cantilever material. The Red offers an accessible entry to moving coil playback; the Blue adds a nude elliptical diamond on aluminium; the Bronze moves to a fine-line profile; and the Black S crowns the range with the Shibata/sapphire combination for the closest approach to Ortofon's reference-level accuracy within the Quintet family.