Why these four SPUs

Being the inventor of the world famous SPU stereo cartridge in 1958, most music lovers, even today, find that there is no name like Ortofon which is more involved in the history of analogue reproduction. This year we decided to give our SPU fans around the world an opportunity to get a collection of the four most famous SPUs, each of them a very special collector’s item. These four SPUs were limited editions in their days (except for SPU Classic). These four cartridges represent the diversity of technical solutions and materials and reflect the non-stop technological development through the last 50 years. The fact that Ortofon has kept the SPU in production for half a century says a lot about the enduring rightness of its design.

The SPU introduced in 1959, pointed the way for the next 50 years of high-end cartridge design: a generator comprising two low-impedance coils, wound with very fine copper wire and crossed in such a way that the two walls of an LP’s stereo microgroove can generate two discrete signals with maximum separation. In the 60s, the popular SPU G-house model gradually evolved to become the SPU Classic. The SPU Classic embodies the essence of the original Moving Coils and is known for its dynamic and powerful sound reproduction.

The SPU Gold Reference, introduced in 1989, was limited to 335 units. The SPU Gold Reference’s major features included Ortofon’s famous Replicant 100 stylus, 99.9999% pure copper armature windings and terminal leads and a slightly modified damping system. Sonically, the Gold Reference is a genuine SPU, known for it’s beautiful fluid midrange, but with just a taste of extra detail.

The SPU 85, from 2003, was a limited production of 500 units. SPU 85’s unique characteristics included an outstanding housing made of Japanese Hida Beech wood, famous for its strength and hardness. In order to influence sound from the motor system, a new wire concept for the armature windings called “AUCURUM” was developed. The basic material here is a specially developed composite consisting of a very pure copper and gold, creating extraordinarily high conductivity and environmental resistivity.

The SPU 90th Anniversary, from 2008 was limited to 500 units. What makes the SPU 90th Anniversary unique is the combination of following four elements: a completely new patent-pending magnetic system, the inclusion of the renowned Field Stabilizing Element (FSE) system, the direct connection between the generator system and the wooden housing (ensuring extremely high internal damping), and finally the use of the revolutionary Selective Laser Melting (SLM) manufacturing technique. SPU 90th Anniversary provides reproduction of sound that is unsurpassed in its neutrality, detail and dynamic range.

These 4 cartridges are made exactly as the original models, and are as genuine as the original production units. All materials and techniques have been preserved during the manufacturing process.