Ortofon Frequently Asked Questions -Stylus and record care

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Ortofon Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions Complete Text

Cartridge Maintenance

Stylus and record care
To maintain optimal sound reproduction and to minimize wear on your record as well as on your stylus, we recommend the following procedure before and after each playback:
Remove dust from the stylus tip using a suitable small brush - such as one of the Ortofon types with the packing - which should be guided carefully along the cantilever in the direction of the stylus tip.

Following this treatment there will normally be no need for further stylus cleaning.

Clean the record surface from dust by using a fine anti-static brush or cloth Ortofon do not recommend the use of solvents containing alcohol for cleaning of either record surface or stylus.

The Ortofon warranty service will not be valid in cases where such treatment has caused malfunction of your cartridge.

General Cartridge Mounting

Leads connections
All Ortofon cartridges have a color-coding of the terminals, indicating red and green for right channel respectively hot and ground terminal. White and blue for left channel respectively hot and ground terminal.

Green terminal will always be used for grounding the cartridge housings or motor-system, whenever connected inside the cartridge.

We recommend to connect lead wires to the cartridge and head-shell before mounting the cartridge on the head-shell.

Remember correct orientation of the leads because of cartridge terminal pin dimensions of 1,2mm and head-shell pins normally only 1,0mm

Stylus position to record center, overhang and alignment
For alignment of overhang please follow record player instructions. Where no instructions or alignment protractor available - we recommend 16 mm as a general position of the stylus in front of the spindle center for having almost zero tracking error on two stylus positions, one at about 30mm inwards from the starting groove and again near the end of playing.

Azimuth, vertical alignment
Azimuth adjustment or vertical alignment of the cartridge - is very important for optimal channel separation.

The checking is easily done by lowering the cartridge onto a thin mirror - placed on the record surface - and examining whether the reflection lines up square with the cartridge, when viewed from the front. During this test tone-arm must still be parallel to the record surface. If not obtainable - because of mirror thickness - remove record and work directly on the mat. If alignment is still incorrect and not adjustable - because of fixed head-shell - the only solution is to resort to packing on one side of the head-shell.

Tone-arm level, vertical tracking angle
Cartridges are constructed so that cantilever angle corresponds to the 20 deg. record cutting angle, when the cartridge is loaded with recommend - tracking force and the cartridge base is parallel with the tone-arm and this again is parallel to the record surface.

Anti-skating, bias compensation adjustment
Correct bias or anti-skating adjustment is important in order to achieve optimal tracking ability and thereby minimum record wear and distortion. A number of players have a device which, related to the tracking force will give an anti-clockwise force needed to the tone-arm. Correct bias has to compensate for the inwards directed torque on the tone-arm caused by the friction between stylus and groove. But this again is influenced by stylus type and amplitudes in the record.

A simple recommendation for a rather precise bias: If you hear distortion in say right channel - when using recommended tracking force - increase the bias-scale and vice versa.
This is for normal cartridge use. But when working like the DJ's, where the record is turned forwards and backwards - bias has to be reduced - otherwise stylus will easily jump in the groove.