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Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Ortofon Kontrapunkt b Phono Cartridge by varkdriver

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REVIEW: Ortofon Kontrapunkt b Phono Cartridge

66.167.142.74


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Model: Kontrapunkt b
Category: Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price: UKP 750.00
Description: Moving Cartridge
Manufacturer URL: Ortofon
Manufacturer URL: Ortofon

Review by varkdriver ( A ) on October 14, 2002 at 15:03:44
IP Address: 66.167.142.74
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for the Kontrapunkt b


As promised in an earlier post, following is an owner review of the Ortofon Kontrapunkt B phono cartridge. Please see Inmate Systems for context of my system. I have played it for approximately 100 hours and have it set up in my Gyro SE II w/ Incognito RB300 arm and Express machining heavyweight playing thru a Lehman Black Cube phono set to 100 ohms (Ortofon recommends 50-200 ohms).

Let me start with the negative and work to the positive. Gripe one- cantilever is made of ruby, and is a bitch to see. It's very tiny in diameter and translucent. The stylus is so small it almost appears there is nothing on the end! Using a loupe revealed a marvelously shaped and mounted line-contact diamond. Extreme caution must be exercised in cleaning this gem. Second gripe- the holes in the stainless body are not drilled thru, so you must have some short screws to get them tight without running into the bottom of the hole. Looks like Ortofon did this for cosmetics, as the body is stunning in design, however I would much prefer drill thru holes so I can use my own hardware. Ortofon does include an nice selection of gold screws.... Gripe three- the top of the cartridge has a long, low ridge running front to back so azimuth can be adjusted by differential tightening of the screws. Some will like this feature, I do not. Gripe four- sounds a little lean in the mid-bass thru my Black Cube (SE not PWX version). More on that later...

On to the positive. The body design is very high-tech and makes most other carts look handmade. I expect Ortofon's deep pockets allow them to use manufacturing techniques others only dream about. Much smaller in scale than it's pictures would indicate, its very short front to back. This is a nice feature for those with limited cart to headshell pin distance. For example, I have Cardas pin clips that tend to be long and stiff. Because the Kontra has recessed pins, it handles the Cardas pins with ease. The short body and bottom design also make tilting the back of the arm down a snap. The Kontra is ever so slightly curved on the bottom with the low point in the center just aft of the stylus. This low point has a carbon fiber "skid plate" to protect records in case of a drop. The Kontra is no "low-rider", it has plenty of stylus to record clearance, even with the back of the arm well down. Front of the cart has metal "wings" that do provide some side to side protection. Side of body has silk-screened parallel lines that make arm leveling a snap. All in all, a very impressive cartridge in its physical design and presentation. Much more polished than most I have seen.

How does it sound? I tried not to listen during the break-in period, but did take a few peeks now and then. This is definitely a cartridge that needs protracted break-in. A little edgy during the first 30 or so hours, when it started to "break", it did so rather quickly. I'd say 50 hours is about right for break-in, although I've noticed some improvement over the last 50. Overall, I keep coming back to the word "refinement" in trying to describe the Kontra Beta's sound. High Freq detail is there in abundance, but without that "edge" many MC's have. The "tinkly" detail that is so much fun comes thru with tremendous naturalness. For example, the opening cut on Andreas Vollenweider "Caverna Magica" is simply stunning as some walks down a gravel path between the speakers. It just couldn't sound more like someone walking on gravel. When Andreas' harp comes in from the rear, it sounds like it starts across the street and comes forward to full bloom. Goosebumps all the way! The midband is very full and natural without being overdone. Female voice, in particular, sounds great as does all Jazz. Opus, "Jazz Trio" for example, was the best I've ever heard from this album on any of my many past cartridges. A natural easyness, but with all the emotion needed to become fully involved and stop thinking about "listening". Down low, the Kontra is very competent, but not the best I've heard. It think it's the Kontra's very even presentation of all freqs that makes the bass seem a little shy. But then again, my ML Ascent's are not the last word in LF extension either... Its here, that I have some reservations, but I'm not sure its the cartridge so much as the phono stage. As much as I like the Black Cube, I know it can be beaten, and the Kontra Beta seems to want TUBES! To try and inject a little "warmth", I've purchased an EAR 834P and some NOS Mullard CV4004/CV4003's from Kevin Deal. I've also got some GE (cryo treated) 5751's and a lab grade, cryo treated GE 6072A coming to see what a little "tube rolling" will do. Will report back as I get the full measure of the 834P with different tubes.

In summary, you can probably tell I LOVE THIS CARTRIDGE! I have 35 years of experience as an audiophile and do not easily "fall" for products any more... This one got me, even with my critique above. I surmise this cartridge will work well in a wide variety of systems as long as they are not too "bright" sounding to begin with. The Kontra Alpha may also be a good match for many systems as its rumored to be slightly warmer in balance without quite the resolution. Bought mine from "mrstereo" on Audiogon for $580 delivered, and he was a delight to deal with. Hope this helps some of you who have been considering this cartridge.

Cheers, Varkdriver


Product Weakness: Ruby cantilever is hard to see... watch out while cleaning. Very slightly dry in the midbass while using solid state phono stage (Black Cube) Tube phono stage may help.
Product Strengths: Abundance of natual detail and air... non fatiguing. Very even treatment of frequency spectrum from top to botton. Great dynamics.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Krell FPB200c
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Sonic Frontiers Line 1
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Michell Gyro SE II
Speakers: Martin Logan Ascent
Cables/Interconnects: Tara Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jass, Pop, Classical
Room Size (LxWxH): 16 x 13 x 10
Room Comments/Treatments: none
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): API Power Wedge 116
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Ortofon Kontrapunkt b Phono Cartridge - varkdriver 15:03:44 10/14/02 ( 9)