Anyone try out the new Ortofon Q-bert's?

[adobostreak]

just released

- 11-12mV output
- supposed to rival the M44-7 in skip resistance
- amazing sound quality

anyone know how the record wear is on these babies?

 

[Menas]

That was supposed to be one of the selling points, lower record wear than m44-7s.

I haven't tried them yet, but as soon as I save up enough money, I'm definately gonna buy 'em. Unless someone tries them first and says they aren't as good as Shure...

 

[Deft]

I don't really know how a scratch cart can have great sound quality as you will knacker the stylus in the first hard session.
I suppose it can sound better overall but the quality will drop off quickly once you are using them properly.

 

[djobserv]

yeha my friend said they stick super good. the output is super loud and clear! just the price is a bit crazy. they got to test the qbert prototypes at his place in hawaii.

 

[vinylViking]

I'm a bit worried about the mad output of these carts. I mean, I've got records that are well into the red on the vu even with zero gain. How will this work out when I play em with carts that are over double the output of the ones I use now?

 

[adobostreak]

they probably will destroy your speakers

 

[vinylViking]

Ok.. I should have guessed they'd clip like sh1t. Uhm.. So I suppose I'd be better off with the q-bert needles on a elektro-cart or something then? Same tracking, lower output?

 

[Deft]

Although not 'test' conditions, the Q-Bert carts were not very skip-proof when I used them at Plasa.
I don't see a whole lot of reasons to switch over from the trusty m44-7 really.

 

[adobostreak]

did you have enough time to decide how good the sound and record wear was?

 

[Deft]

No, but like I said - what's the point of worrying over sound quality on a cart used for scratching? You pretty much remove any chance for nice sound the moment you start scratching. Maybe if all you do is the odd baby scratch once a month, but I don't see a lot of reasons to switch otherwise.
It's just marketing nonsense - they already have the pink scratch cart.
They weren't sticking very well at any tracking force I tried - and this was on a straight Vestax arm.

 

[Ortofon Inc]

Sound quality, in this case, also relates to the "detail" of the scratch as oppoesed to a "blur".
The pink Scratch cartridge design goal was to have a compromise between sound quality, anti-skip and "abuse resistance"(ie damage to the cantilever)

Straight arms change the whole geomtry of stylus angle and "tweaking" can affect the results from table to table.

No question that the high output can overload older mixers, but current models should have no problem. As stated previously, all Ortofon styli are interchangeable ( except the GT) so the Qbert stylus on a Pros S or Nightclub black body will yield same performance at a lower output.

Once broken in (the ones at Plaza might not have been) the Q's really do stick w/o tearing up the record.

 

[Deft]

Does the scratch series really have it's own distinct place in the line-up now?

 

[adobostreak]

As stated previously, all Ortofon styli are interchangeable ( except the GT) so the Qbert stylus on a Pros S or Nightclub black body will yield same performance at a lower output.

do you know what the max output voltage that can be attained if a qbert stylus were interchanged with an older ortofon cartridge body?

 

[djobserv]

my guess would be the same output as the normal stylus would put out. im guessing that it dont matter the stylus it depends on on something inside of the actual cartrage.

 

[Ortofon Inc]

Deft....the Scratch cart certainly has a place if you like pink -

djobserv...correct about the output, it is the body, not the stylus that determines output (ie: windings on the 4 pole pins)

Adobostreak...on older bodies that would be 6-7mv.

 

[adobostreak]

couple more questions on the interchanging thing... sorry

so does that mean if i use lets say an elektro stylus (7.5mv) on a original pro-s (5.0mv) cart i would only get a max output of 5.0mv? i upgraded from a pro-s to an elektro using the same cartridge, and it does in fact seems louder.

and lets say if you were to put a pro-s stylus on the qbert cartridge... will that enhance the output to 11-12mv?

i apologize as im just curious about the different possibilities and how the whole thing works

 

[djobserv]

Deft....the Scratch cart certainly has a place if you like pink -

djobserv...correct about the output, it is the body, not the stylus that determines output (ie: windings on the 4 pole pins)

Adobostreak...on older bodies that would be 6-7mv.

aye man i got them pink ones. haha but i got the pink one for prety cheap 25 bucks. so i cant really complain about the color. i like it to use to sample. but scratching i have to lower the suspension on the 1200 to like 2 and then put the weight backwards and almost to the end of the tonearm like how that guy set it up on the video on your guys website. do you have any tips? i bought it without a little booklet or something telling you how to set it up.

 

[Ortofon Inc]

couple more questions on the interchanging thing... sorry

so does that mean if i use lets say an elektro stylus (7.5mv) on a original pro-s (5.0mv) cart i would only get a max output of 5.0mv? i upgraded from a pro-s to an elektro using the same cartridge, and it does in fact seems louder.

Yes

and lets say if you were to put a pro-s stylus on the qbert cartridge... will that enhance the output to 11-12mv?

Yes

i apologize as im just curious about the different possibilities and how the whole thing works

No problem

 

[Ortofon Inc]

i like it to use to sample. but scratching i have to lower the suspension on the 1200 to like 2 and then put the weight backwards and almost to the end of the tonearm like how that guy set it up on the video on your guys website. do you have any tips?

The correct tonearm height is parallel to the record when the needle is in the groove. Tracking force 3-4 grams. If scratching anti skating set to zero