Ortofon MC Quintet Black S Cartridge
The Quintet Black is the best example of Quintet’s overall excellence
The Quintet Black is graced with a Nude Shibata diamond, considered one of the best stylus profiles available, mounted on a high-performance Boron cantilever.
The Shibata’s slim, highly polished profile allows an exceedingly wide contact area to the walls of the groove and ensures detailed and pure reproduction thoughout the spectrum, including even the most high frequency groove information.
The ST-7 transformer is a perfect match for the MC Quintet Black cartridge.
Ease of use
Top-mounting of the Quintet cartridges is easy and secure using the screws supplied. The aluminuim frame has threaded mounting holes and is fitted easily with the 5mm or 7mm screws depending on the thickness of the headshell.
The Quintet series’ right angles, straight lines, stylus visibility and ample distance between the record surface and the cartridge’s bottom will make it easy to mount and align the cartridge and tonearm correctly. The Quintet Series gives excellent results with most common tonearms.
The Quintet Story
Nothing demonstrates Ortofon's long-standing resilience more than its commitment to the refinement of analogue sound quality and its continued development of new cartridge models. Since 1948 Ortofon has introduced about 100 different Moving Coil models. We believe the cartridges in this new series are more than worthy successors to the long line of models that has made Ortofon the global leader in the manufacture and supply of phono cartridges.
The MC Quintet Series is a direct result of our continued research and innovation
The MC Quintet Series is congruent with Ortofon’s unrelenting commitment to providing the most precise and accurate reproduction possible without coloration:
- A special ABS (Acrylonitrile/Butadiene/Styrene) thermoplastic material is used for manufacturing of the body. This light-weight, impact resistant material is very suitable for injection-moulding and provides a very durable scratch resistant surface.
- Neodymium magnets are implemented to achieve an optimal output.
- Low internal impedance makes the cartridge less sensitive to load and therefore ensures compatibility with the widest range of preamps and transformers.
It is our aim to bring our customers many hours of new and surprising experiences in listening to their precious vinyl collection.
Each of the five Quintet Series cartridges has its own individual sonic expression, and all five models together represent the ensemble of five classic variations:
- MC Quintet Mono is a true mono cartridge for playing mono microgroove vinyl records
- MC Quintet Red is an all-purpose cartridge that delivers open, dynamic sound with a slight touch of warmth
- MC Quintet Blue adds more dynamics and resolution, sounds more open and reproduces more details
- MC Quintet Bronze adds even more details and resolution but in a very evenhanded way that pays respect to all elements
- MC Quintet Black is the best of everything, true to the groove with resolution and accurate insight into each recording
MC Quintet Black S Technical data
Output voltage at 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec. - 0.3 mV
Channel balance at 1 kHz - < 1.0 dB
Channel separation at 1 kHz - > 23 dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz - > 15 dB
Frequency response 20-20.000 Hz - +/- 1.5 dB
Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force *) - 80 µm
Compliance, dynamic, lateral - 15 µm/mN
Stylus type - Nude Shibata on Sapphire cantilever
Stylus tip radius - r/R 6/50 µm
Tracking force range - 2.1-2.5 g (21-25 mN)
Tracking force, recommended - 2.3 g (23 mN)
*) Typical value
Tracking angle - 20°
Internal impedance, DC resistance - 5 Ohm
Recommended load impedance - > 20 Ohm
Cartridge body material - ABS/Aluminium
Coil wire material - Aucurum
Cartridge colour - Black
Cartridge weight - 9 g
Download the MC Quintet series userguide
Download the MC Quintet series brochure
Review quote MC Quintet Black
Hi-Fi World May 2014
Reviewed by Tony Bolton
Verdict: Superb sounding all-rounder that shows analogue at its best. Excellent value.
"The Quintet Black is something of an audiophile bargain. It seemed to deal with any type of music that I played through it with decorum and an air of quality...
...It is a very good cartridge that will be a welcome addition to any hi-fi system...
...Very well mannered, but springhtly sounding cartridge...Very smooth midband and treble. Excellent surface noise control. Fast and fluid bass sound...
...The Ortofon Black undoubtedly possesses the sonic class and all-round ability of some cartridges costing significantly more."