Ortofon MC A90 cartridge

I think it is a matter of access to the machine. I was told 500 but this may be wrong. I am very happy to have one.

Wow, lots of tubes! I hate you as you are so organized. I agree with you entirely about the Ortofon A90. I still want to try the Decca Reference, however.

Gallant, I should have said the London Decca Reference, although I am not aware of any other Decca Reference.

I now have the Ortofon A90 mounted on my new Bergman Sindre turntable. I have it tracking at 2.3 grams. I am using my H-Cat phono stage with a 100 ohm load. I don't know how much of what I am hearing to attribute purely to the A90, but the sound is breathtaking. I have a wide soundstage, excellent extension at the top and bottom ends, fantastic dynamics, incredible tracking, and probably the greatest realism I have ever heard.

I started at absolute level but have found that the sound is best with the cartridge lower in back, not by much.

I would like to try the London Decca Reference, but it will be a long time before I remove the A90.

Mike, I had a Shindo Labs tt which entails adopting everything-tone arm and cartridge.

As I said, I really don't know if it is the cartridge entirely.

Apparently, Ortofon is going to have to stick with the maximum of 500 A90s. It is some limitation in the manufacturing process.

Audioblazer, I'm using the new Bergman Sindre tt with a straight line tracking arm. Like the Walker tt, the asimuth and overhang are set by loosening the screws holding either the cartridge or the arm tube. So a change in one affects the other. How fondly I remember my Wheaton tone arm with asimuth easily dialed on and vta so easily done with a calibrating indication.

I have no idea how the Ortofon A-90 sounds on other tonearms but mine certainly sounds better than any cartridge, arm, and turntable, I have ever heard. I have a Decca Jubilee cartridge that sounded great on the Loricraft tt and Schroeder arm. I would like to try it on the Bergman but it was a pain to get the A-90 done right.

Last weekend several friends from Houston were up and said that they had their Ortofon A-90s set a 2.01 grams. I tried it and actually set it at 2.02 grams. I did have to raise the VTA up to compensate, of course. Overall, I am most happy with the improvements ignoring Ortofon's recommendations. All of us have straight line tracking arms. They have Rockports, and I have the Bergman.