atelier 13 audio
ORTOFON MC A MONO
MOVING COIL CARTRIDGE
ORTOFON MC A MONO
The MC A Mono is a true mono cartridge for getting the finest quality play-back of MONO recordings.
If you play a mono record with a stereo cartridge you will not achieve the same signal in the two output channels, due to imperfections such as crosstalk, noise, phase errors, tracking error, antiskating and distortion. This difference between the channels will result in an unstable and compromised image. Mono switches on some electrical components can compensate for this, to some extent. However, using a dedicated mono cartridge will eliminate all of the reproduction problems, as the cartridge produces only one signal and feeds both channels of the hi-fi system equally. This will provide a much more forceful and stable image with a fuller sound.
True Mono cartridges also do not respond to vertical movement (as all the musical information is picked-up only in the horizontal plane of a record groove). This has the added benefit of reducing the effects of dust and dirt on the end audio performance. The final result will be a much more clean and noiseless reproduction of the MONO record. These effects simply cannot be achieved merely by the use of a mono switch.
The MC A Mono draws inspiration and design elements from the hugely popular MC A 95 cartridge, but adjusts the engineering to cater solely for mono vinyl records.
TOPOLOGY
Moving Coil
STYLUS
Polished Nude Replicant 100
on Boron Cantilever
CARTRIDGE WEIGHT
6 g
STYLUS TIP RADIUS
r/R5/ 100μm
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
20 – 20,000 Hz +2dB / -1dB
OUTPUT VOLTAGE AT 1000 HZ
5cm/sec. 0.2 mV
COMPLIANCE, DYNAMIC/LATERAL
13 μm/mN
TRACKING FORCE / RECOMMENDED
2.0 - 2.5 g / 2.3 g
TRACKING ABILITY AT 315 HZ AT
RECCOMENDED TRACKING FORCE
90 μm
TRACKING ANGLE
23°
CARTRIDGE BODY MATERIAL
SLM Titanium
RECOMMENDED LOAD IMPEDANCE
> 10Ω
INTERNAL IMPEDANCE, DC RESISTANCE
7Ω
MC A MONO
$ 5,500
what they say ...
Stereophile
Michael Fremer | April 2019
Summary
"... There’s something for everyone in the mono-cartridge mix.
Add the MC A Mono to the group at the top - at least in my mono-cartridge experience ..."
"... The stable mono image hung between the speakers, large, three-dimensional, and well-focused. The picture was smooth, full-bodied, well-detailed, and powerful ..."