Interview of Ortofon’s CEO

For the 95^th anniversary of the famous Danish brand that produces Ortofon cartridges, maPlatine.com had the honour of talking to CEO Cristen H. Nielsen at the Munich High End Trade Show.

maPlatine.com: Ortofon is celebrating its 95th anniversary. How do you analyse this amazing longevity?

Cristen H. Nielsen: Ortofon has a long history and a rich heritage. However, what matters most is that our products reflect what consumers want today. Our strength lies in our ability to adapt to the technological changes and the requirements of the market. We safeguard our heritage by continually investing in technology and product development.

maPlatine.com: Historically, what was Ortofon’s Best Buy?

Cristen H. Nielsen: The OM5. Millions of units of this great entry-level cartridge were sold and it is still very popular to this day because of its price, sonic performance and reliability.

maPlatine.com: What do you think of the impressive revival of the record? Do you think it might only be a passing trend?

Cristen H. Nielsen: Actually, most of our business relies on trend. However, we don’t believe it applies to vinyl records. We consider the vinyl as the most natural medium to listen to music. Regardless of what the future may hold in terms of innovations in the field of digital music, audiophiles will always love the warm and soft sound of a vinyl record.

maPlatine.com: What are Ortofon’s current flagship products?

Cristen H. Nielsen: Our 2M line is probably the most popular product of our current range. The 2M cartridges are designed to reproduce the information inside the record’s groove as accurately as possible. They are aimed at customers looking for a simple alternative to their old cartridge. They are easy to mount on most tonearm models.

maPlatine.com: Please tell us more about the new Quintet line.

Cristen H. Nielsen: The Quintet line is our latest addition to our range. Each one of the five cartridges in the Quintet line has its own sound signature and all of them form the five traditional variations of moving coil cartridges. We have been developing moving coil cartridges since 1948 and we believe that our Quintet models are legitimate successors to the lineage.

The Quintet Mono is a genuine monophonic cartridge designed for a monophonic groove. The MC Quintet Red is a multipurpose cartridge that delivers an open and punchy sound reproduction, along with a touch of warmth. The MC Quintet Blue is more vibrant and detailed. The sound reproduction is more open and smoother. The MC Quintet Bronze adds more detail and resolution, with great neutrality. The MC Quintet Black is definitely the best of the four. The Shibata stylus picks up all the music from the groove with unrivalled subtleness. The Quintet line works wonders with most tonearms. We believe that these cartridges perfectly reflect Ortofon’s commitment and values in its quest for a high quality analogue sound.

maPlatine.com: What are your forthcoming projects for Ortofon?

Cristen H. Nielsen: We have developed new cartridges for our 95^th anniversary. They will be unveiled in a few months’ time and we are quite excited.

We wish to thank Mr Cristen H. Nielsen once again for his time for this exclusive interview!