Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Ortofon X5-MC Phono Cartridge by MAS

Model:	X5-MC
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$325
Description:	High Output moving coil cartridge
Manufacturer URL:	Ortofon
Manufacturer URL:	Ortofon

Review by MAS ( A ) on August 28, 2002 at 19:56:29
IP Address: 24.167.199.109

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for the X5-MC

I've posted a recommendation for this cartridge at least ten times already. I thought I would gather all the little snippets I have written and submit them as a review, since I always seem to leave something out. It will be a real productivity aid to say "go read the review".
In the past seven years I have had, in order, Shure V15, Sumiko BPS, Grado Platinum, Grado Sonata, Shelter 501 II, and the Ortofon X5-MC. While my system has changed over those years, my rating would be, from least to best, BPS (ugh!), Shure, Platinum, Sonata, X5-MC, Shelter.

I had a Shure V15 that I replaced with a Grado Platinum. Big improvement in sound quality. The Grado is much more transparent. The mids are really nice, and the bass is very strong. In fact I feel there is a midbass emphasis, so careful matching is required. However, I was bothered by mistracking of inner grooves with the Platinum. No amount of fiddling or tweaking my Well-Tempered Classic could resolve the problem. After a while, the mistracking really wore me down, I couldn't hear the nice mids or strong bass, just the damn mistracking. I fixed it by upgrading to the Grado Sonata. If you are going Grado, I strongly recommend stepping up to the Sonata. The Sonata retained the strengths of the Platinum, with no mistracking.
I also used a Shelter 501 II while I had the Sonata. The Shelter was a very musical cartridge, with a little bit of euphonic golden glow. I liked the Shelter a little more than the Sonata.
Which brings me to the Ortofon (finally).
I have had the X5-MC for about 5 months and I am very happy with it. I've played 535 LP sides on it. It sounds as good, although different, as the Grado Sonata it replaced in my system. I rate a little bit ahead of the Sonata because it is such a good value. The Ortofon is very well balanced top to bottom, has very good detail and transparency, good stereo imaging, and is a good tracker. The X5 sounds lean by comparison to the Sonata, which I believe has a mid-bass emphasis. It is not at all edgy or spitty in my system.
The slightly lean sound is a great match in my system. I never believed in PRAT, but I do now. I think the bass emphasis of the Sonata was holding my system back in that department.
The Ortofon X5-MC is available at audiogon for $110, which makes it an exceptional value.
There are some minor down sides.
The X5-MC has a slightly lean sound. I noticed this right away after my stint with the Sonata. Sorry, I don't have a test sweeep record and an SPL meter. The bass is good enough to satisfy me, especially with the adjustable subwoofer in place. When I was using the Fried/A6 speakers, which are bass masters, the sound was also very satisfying. Still, I think if your system is already lean, and you wanted help in the bass, the X5 is not the cartridge for you.
The tracking VTF is slightly high at 2 grams.
The output is not very high at 2 mv. This is a minor incovenience for me. Since it does not match my tuner or CD, when I switch to and fro between tuner and phono, I have to adjust the volume (like I said, very minor).
Finally, it is a very light cartridge at 4.1 grams. It runs beautifully in an unmodified Rega P3 2000 (with a spacer), but might not balance with a Heavyweight. I suppose you can always add some blu tack or some other weight to the headshell for a little extra weight.

Product Weakness: Slightly lean
Product Strengths: Top to bottom balance, tracking ability, imaging, value

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Rega Mira
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	none
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Rega P3 2000
Speakers:	GR-Research Paradox 1
Cables/Interconnects:	AQ F-18
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz 90%, classical 5%, rock 5%
Room Size (LxWxH):	15 x 15 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Bay window expands the size of the room . Two large doorways.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	five months
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Slightly lean
Product Strengths:	Top to bottom balance, tracking ability, imaging, value