Ortofon Diamond

[Bill Demars]

Firstly, a disclaimer that I am an Ortofon dealer. With that out of the way, I have one of the first Diamonds to land on U.S. soil. It is mounted on an Ikeda IT-407 12” arm on a suspended table from Italy. I have previously had the Anna, Anna Diamond and now the Diamond. The Anna was a fine cartridge, that had a feel for the romantic side of the sonic spectrum. Not erring in any way and a truly world-class cartridge. The Anna Diamond took the dynamic swings and risk-taking to a higher level. If there were pants-flapping dynamics on the record, the Anna Diamond would produce them. At the moment I have about 30 hours on the Diamond and it is truly in another class than both of it’s predecessors. Firstly, the tracking is dramatically better. There were a few records that the AD just didn’t want to track. Paul Simon’s Still Crazy...50 Ways... just didn’t want to track “Don’t need to discuss much...” with either the Anna or AD. It sails right through on the Diamond and sounds great doing it.

It sounded great out of the box, which is a good sign, but once I got to 30 hours there was magic. Not that I only listen to Paul Simon, but after playing side two of Simon’s Hearts and Bones, I said to myself that is perfect! I even said to my wife I don’t know exactly what is perfect, but I am wanting nothing more from that listening experience. She just rolled her eyes as usual. At 30 hours it sounded just like a master tape with such a non-mechanical intoxicating sound and I can only assume that everything continually improves until 100 hours or so.

There isn’t much out there on this new cartridge yet, so I had to share my feelings about it. It is a real winner!

 

[dminches]

Can you explain the differences between the Anna Diamond and the Diamond?

 

[Johan K]

Firstly, a disclaimer that I am an Ortofon dealer. With that out of the way, I have one of the first Diamonds to land on U.S. soil. It is mounted on an Ikeda IT-407 12” arm on a suspended table from Italy. I have previously had the Anna, Anna Diamond and now the Diamond. The Anna was a fine cartridge, that had a feel for the romantic side of the sonic spectrum. Not erring in any way and a truly world-class cartridge. The Anna Diamond took the dynamic swings and risk-taking to a higher level. If there were pants-flapping dynamics on the record, the Anna Diamond would produce them. At the moment I have about 30 hours on the Diamond and it is truly in another class than both of it’s predecessors. Firstly, the tracking is dramatically better. There were a few records that the AD just didn’t want to track. Paul Simon’s Still Crazy...50 Ways... just didn’t want to track “Don’t need to discuss much...” with either the Anna or AD. It sails right through on the Diamond and sounds great doing it.

It sounded great out of the box, which is a good sign, but once I got to 30 hours there was magic. Not that I only listen to Paul Simon, but after playing side two of Simon’s Hearts and Bones, I said to myself that is perfect! I even said to my wife I don’t know exactly what is perfect, but I am wanting nothing more from that listening experience. She just rolled her eyes as usual. At 30 hours it sounded just like a master tape with such a non-mechanical intoxicating sound and I can only assume that everything continually improves until 100 hours or so.

There isn’t much out there on this new cartridge yet, so I had to share my feelings about it. It is a real winner!

Hi Bill,

I’ve had the MC Diamond since the 30th of November. Maybe I’m one of first owner in Sweden. It’s mounted on the Acoustic Signature TA-5000 9” arm, that sits on the Acoustic Signature Ascona Neo.
I agree, it sounded very good right out of the box… but now, almost a month later it performs like a wizard in the groves.

All the best / Johan

 

[Bill Demars]

Can you explain the differences between the Anna Diamond and the Diamond?

Hi dm-For one, they have added carbon nano-tubes that are sandwiched between a heavy platinum disc. This improves tracking ability and cuts down on distortion. The Diamond tracks markedly better than the Anna and Anna Diamond. The soundstage is deeper and wider and the sense of blackness between the notes is greatly improved. It just seems to have zero mechanical properties, where the AD while still outstanding, had the occasion of a slight mechanical forced nature. At 50 hours it will wow you with uncanny realism.

 

[audio.bill]

Hi dm-For one, they have added carbon nano-tubes that are sandwiched between a heavy platinum disc. This improves tracking ability and cuts down on distortion. The Diamond tracks markedly better than the Anna and Anna Diamond. The soundstage is deeper and wider and the sense of blackness between the notes is greatly improved. It just seems to have zero mechanical properties, where the AD while still outstanding, had the occasion of a slight mechanical forced nature. At 50 hours it will wow you with uncanny realism.

Curious if you have any experience comparing the Ortofon Verismo to these others and your impressions of how it performs. I find your description of how these cartridges compare to be very enlightening and easy to comprehend, thanks for sharing your valuable experience.

 

[Bill Demars]

Curious if you have any experience comparing the Ortofon Verismo to these others and your impressions of how it performs. I find your description of how these cartridges compare to be very enlightening and easy to comprehend, thanks for sharing your valuable experience.

Hi Bill-I am sorry, but I have not heard the Verismo yet. I would like to in the near future.