MC X40

The last Ortofon cartridge I owned was a MC20, maybe 40-45 years ago. But the other day I stumbled upon reviews of this little gem, and every reviewer loved it to pieces. I knew right away that I had to own it.
I took great care installing it in my Audiomods Series Six tonearm the next day, and it didn't disappoint me. It works flawlessly with my Ortofon ST-80SE as well.
Now, some 12 hours of playing time later, it displays the most perfect balance in the entire frequency range I have ever experienced, and it is fast too, revealing the soul of one lovely piece of music after another, never fatiguing, and digging details that keeps surprising me out of the grooves of albums I believed I knew extremely well. It's a gem, a bargain, and a keeper.

I knew I need X40 first time I've heard it at High End in München. Stage is so open! One of the best cartridges I ever had. Competitors will have a hard time to match performance of a €5k product with €1k price tag. Thank you Hr. Wozniak for a great talk and for bringing another great gem at the market!

Initially the sound didn’t really gel, but now, after some 15 hours, the cartridge is coming into its own. I agree with the reviews that the sound is very organic and balanced. It’s an immersive experience. I’m sure the sound will improve further over the next 30 hours or so.

I took a chance on this new-to-market MC cartridge. Early adopters can sometimes get burned but, with this purchase, I lucked out. My stand out sonic signatures are a low end solidity and high end articulation. As the listening hours mounted (50-100) it got better and better. It is the cliché of record collection rediscovery all over again.

I took a chance on this new-to-market MC cartridge. Early adopters can sometimes get burned but, with this purchase, I lucked out. My stand out sonic signatures are a low end solidity and high end articulation. As the listening hours mounted (50-100) it got better and better. It is the cliché of record collection rediscovery all over again.