Ortofon Concorde Mk2 Range: Which to Buy? | Bop DJ

[@MichaelOglesby]

Top video explaining the differences in under 4 minutes. Brilliant.

[@BopDJstore]

Glad you think so!

[@wurlyone4685]

Good, simple review setting out all the important stuff to help people make an informed choice.

[@gunjabeans]

In reference to your comment on the Scratch: Rolling off 20k down to 18kHz will not remove any harshness. Harshness is in the upper mid 2.5kHz to 7kHz range. Also, most records will not produce up to 18kHz after it's been played even a couple times (You can google the numbers on that)... Case and point, The Holy Grail M44-7 is harsh as hell and look at it's specs: Shure M44-7 Output: 9.5mV Freq Response: 20Hz-17kHz

[@klubstompers]

Yea, it's harsh, it also eats your vinyl up super fast.

[@moket123]

@@klubstompers M44-7 is low wearing

[@klubstompers]

@@moket123 So they claim, but they tear your vinyl to shreds when you back track, and cut a wide groove. The vinyl i bought during the time i used M44-7's, my vinyl from 2002-2003 is in way worse condition than all my other vinyl. They scratch better than most needles, track amazing, and sound phenomenal, but your vinyl pays the price. Especially white labels, colored vinyl, or picture discs, which have a softer vinyl. This is due to it's wider than average stylus cutting a wide groove, so when you play your vinyl with a average width stylus, you loose some frequencies, due to the stylus not making contact with the wide groove cut by the M44-7. When you couple this with their heavier than average recommended tracking force range of 1.5-3 grams, a spherical instead of elliptical tip, things get ate up.

[@moket123]

@@klubstompers interesting. What would you recommend instead? Also 1.5-3g is fairly low for a DJ cart e.g. most Ortofons have recommended tracking at 4g

[@klubstompers]

@@moket123 For regular mixing, I like to run Ortofon Pro S on concorde carts at 2 grams, tracking at the first line between 0-1, on MK2 Techs. Decks need to be level for tracking numbers to mean much. If scratching and i am popping out, which usually only happens with new vinyl that hasn't seen these carts on em much, ill up the weight or adjust the tracking depending on why i am jumping out of the groove, but letting the record play a few times, and back cueing the area a few times, is usually better than trying to adjust weight or tracking for me. Every needle is going to cut a seat for the tip to ride in over time. With less weight, i have found, you are less likely to cut threw the groove if you do jump out, and permanently scratch the record. I have been mixing for over 20 years, but i am by no means an expert when it comes to scratching, this is just what works for me, and allows me to play records hundreds of times and still have them sound clean and powerful even in the areas where i scratch.

[@proavsource]

They still haven't addressed the connection issue with the rear pins being so short and not reaching the tonearm pins inside the Technics 1200s series. So, if your gonna use the Ortofon Concorde on Technics 1200s, don't. They will RUIN your tonerarm over time. It's a design flaw on that particular cartridge style. If you have a 1200, then buy the Ortofon OM series, which are mounted on headshells. And whatever you do, don't lick the back of your cartridges. I know this is a temporary trick to fix the connection issue between the Concords and the Technics tonearms, but this will cause rust issues in the tonerarm over time. Instead, buy some Caig Lube electronic spray (or any lubricant used for electronic PCB's) to fix this issue. However, eventually, just buy the OM series or any headshells mount cartridge for your beloved Technics 1200s. Especially now that parts are harder to come buy or super expensive.

[@WingmanLive]

I hate to muddy the waters here you know I do, I am a proud owner of the club mk2 carts and I can confirm the one of the carts does drop out only giving me sound on the left channel, I do have to take it out and lick terminals even though I have a can of servisol spray.. But guess what? I have the same problem with my headshell Stanton 500's aswell! It's only sometimes not allways, it has more to do with humidity in the air that affects the tonearm, that's why you need good shielding it's all so another reason I took the piss out my mate for selling he's technics and buying the pioneer because if you think you get problems with technics tonearm's your in for a world of pain when it comes to pioneer decks because the shielding is not even close. It's just humidity!

[@pattyratty1521]

@@WingmanLive bought mk7 technics has same issues. Cuts out on left side fixed it by holding tight left when putting cartridge on. Had same issue with audio technica cartridge which I rate highly for sound.

[@klubstompers]

All carts do this. It is mostly due to people who remove their carts a lot, like club decks, or someone who over tightened the cart. The tone arm piece that spins around and grabs the alignment pins on the cart, gets wore down, so it doesn't draw the cart all the way into the arm to make a proper contact. You need to replace what is called a "Tonearm Headshell Socket Connector", and you have to rewire the arm and solder it to the board or just cut the wires off the old socket, and solder a new socket to the old wires.

[@mannyfranco8955]

Awww man I just saw this comment and I already ordered the Scratch and I was going to order the OM Pro S. Maybe I should return the scratch and get the OM series for my Technics 1200s. Thanks

[@mkphotofusion3676]

Which Audio technica cartridge and stylus do u recommend?

[@_alexanderd]

Thank you for this extended review!

[@BopDJstore]

My pleasure!

[@richardp1233]

Great explanation! I started out with the mix version and they've been great at home looking to upgrade

[@andinbriwel1092]

I ordered the Club and the Q-bert - Club for listening and ripping vinyl to digital, and the q-bert for scratching :)

[@Niles7787]

Hi! Are you happy with the Club for ripping vinyl? I bought the Club specifically for that purpose, but all my rips had distortion on the low end

[@grahammcdonald]

It's a shame that we have to make a decision between best audio quality and scratch/backcueing. I'm sticking to my Mk1 scratches for now.

[@ProudManc]

Is the cartridge or stylus responsible for the output voltage? Could I buy the scratch carts for dj'ing etc... but buy just one club styli to put on the scratch cartridge for when I rip vinyl?

[@WingmanLive]

you would think with the scratch having highest output, putting a club styli on there is a good bet, but there are other specs that come into play, when you get the instructions it tells you more like channel separation and channel balance , in my manual for the club carts it says 25db at 1khz for the scratch it says 22db at 1khz. so somehow the club is outputting more in certain areas despite having less output.

[@musicislife2000]

Pretty much im gonna need all of them lol

[@deecee6355]

Wich cartridge to choose only listening to blues and jazz at Home?

[@EricSchmeric]

club

[@asamonte]

Can i swap the SCRATCH styli on to a MIX cart?

[@lucasmuller2815]

Thanks for this interesting sum up!

[@BopDJstore]

My pleasure!

[@MrFREAKYSHORTY]

first of all great vid :) i like to scratch allot, but also like to mix house -techno for hours wich one is the best for both ? buying 1 set of 2 is already pricy (prob worth every penny) but getting 2 pair is to much at once for me atleast

[@debnlinda]

What'd you get? Happy with it?

[@coffeebreak8484]

Come on...what did you buy and what would you recommend please?

[@mannyfranco8955]

What did you get ???

[@lp6132]

Which cartridge would be best for mixing old skool hardcore rave from early 90’s ( older records ) ?

[@paula2969]

Club

[@Trac3r.]

So can you still back cue with the club if you’re mixing a smooth seamed 2-8 hour set and every now and then some quick drops if the crowd or 6 ppl 2 metres apart are really getting hyped lol I need answers I’m not a noob to turntables but always got on with Stanton warriors needles now I want these I know I’ll need the digital and scratch set but when I’m going normal or shelling it down a bit will I be ok with the club? £50 a replacement stylus

[@grambo4436]

I would love to see competition from different manufacturers of stylus and cartridges that can surpass and improve the quality sound of the Shure M44 -7

[@moket123]

2 years on and still nothing comes close

[@Sairamark]

What If I would use Club DJ for normal Vinyl and DVS? Could be work, or would be better a Digital?

[@PMGisTomTom]

I ran over my pair of silver concord in the case with my car back in the 90s by accident, and to my surprise my car didn’t even crush em, unscathed and lasted years after that. Became a lifelong ortifon person 😂

[@BopDJstore]

This should be an add for Ortofon! 😂

[@PMGisTomTom]

@@BopDJstore right lol my 98Civic may have crush the box, but those concord were whole and lasted 8yrs and many tips later before I jumped on the Qberts. The crush velvety box gave it character in my book lol

[@jaahreed]

I have a question?? Can you just change the stylus, are they all compatible? Do the headshells/body have the same output?

[@BopDJstore]

Each head shell has been specifically made for the stylus, you could mix the stylus' up but the head shell may not be suited to transmit the audio at the same level.

[@djpaul146]

Will any of these fit my kam turntable I don't think they will I'm using the stanton 505 needle and cartridge

[@richardtyson5835]

They will fit.

[@TheAndred1]

Thank you

[@djflashofficial1]

I want to record my vinyl onto wav thru my serato what ortofon is the best one

[@klubstompers]

How does a boost in the freq response cause better tracking? Tracking is how the needle stays in the groove, which has nothing to do with the frequency response.

[@junkshopbeats9188]

It sends a signal that the DVS system can hear better. That said, I find DVS works fine with any half-decent stylus.

[@thomasgrobner1567]

The CLUB does more damage to your vinyl (not less)

[@vaggelisioannidis4636]

It can only damage your records if you are scratching. For reproduction and back queuing it does not harm the records.

[@VoyageOne1]

The CLUB is aimed more at the house/techno crowd.

[@urosjevtic401]

@@vaggelisioannidis4636 It does because it is eliptical. Spehiral does less damage. Cheers.

[@Ninja_Gaijin]

@@urosjevtic401 it is argued that spherical does more damage because it has two pressure points on the sides where the spherical touches. The elliptical sits solidly in the groove and distributes the pressure evenly. It is true that elliptical does damage if you play it backwards (backcue/scratch). But I have never seen proof of elliptical causing more wear with regular playback. I believe that playing elliptical styli backwards damages the stylus.

[@urosjevtic401]

@@Ninja_Gaijin no dissrespect, but practice showed.

[@mesmaeker]

Great vid

[@kirilbogdanov3192]

How about if you want to scratch with the DVS ? Digital or Scratch ? And if you want to run DVS but occasionally want to play a real vinyl , is any of them suitable for both ?

[@vsd1988]

get the scratch ^^ i just got it and it tracks perfectly on DVS

[@mannyfranco8955]

I just bought the Scratch 🤩

[@junkshopbeats9188]

@@vsd1988yes. To be honest, I’ve never had an issue with DVS and any ‘good’ stylus properly set up. I mostly use Rekordbox. 4:00

[@onetruedodd]

Thank you for putting out this video. Very informative and in depth. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what happens if you attach a replacement stylus from another model? For example, a club stylus on a DJ cartridge? Do you have to stay with the stylus that matches your cartridge? If not, would there be any benefit to changing the stylus like in that example?

[@thomasgrobner1567]

It's not a good idea according to other reviews

[@Ninja_Gaijin]

@@thomasgrobner1567 you used to with the old models..

[@FathomSoundProAudio]

Dodd Rivers in my experience, I observed the gain characteristics of the cartridge with the tracking characteristics of the different stylus.

[@TheReal_DeanD]

Looks like it’s the Mk 2 DJ that is orange and blue for me.

[@diwaroeng7224]

Can lp3/lp120 audio technica, using this ortofon stylus?

[@pgrossmsk]

im using the club mk2 for normal mix and back cue .the special elliptical version. thought of changing to the cheaper mix version .im quite worried of record wear due to elliptical as what others say when back cue ,corrrect me if im wrong . any tips ?

[@lucasmuller2815]

You'll get the same weight on the groove, but on a slighlty bigger surface, then less grams per mm2, then less wear on the groove. Just apply 3g for mixing, 2g for listening and your records will be fine

[@junkshopbeats9188]

@@lucasmuller2815It’s still confusing marketing as these are all ‘DJ’ cartridges. Back cueing is part of any form of mixing, isn’t it. Sure, it may turn into more of a scratch in hip hop DJing but even so…

[@gerbandnl]

Some people say that an eliptical stylus causes more wear than a spherical stylus and the other way around. Pls explain

[@moket123]

Even Ortofon say both..

[@MyFaveClipz]

How much Weigh do yall put in the scratch Mk2?

[@zelko0768]

Which one of these is best just for home listening

[@fernando9248]

I understand that the Club has better sound. This catirges are for Djs consoles and prepare to use it as Dj reproduction. If you want only listening you can choose the Ortofon M2 series. Ortofon M2 Bronze, is very good but also very expensive. This M2 has more quality in sound. Be awere that are for audiofilos and it sounds more flat.

[@VettigeHandoek]

The Mix is alright. I dont think you can hear the difference with the Club. I think a better styles is needed the most whn you interact a lot with your records (DJ’ing, scratching, queing) IMO

[@klubstompers]

Any needle except digital would be fine, some will give you more output/volume/punch. If you want the stylus with the best sound id get the club, it is going to have the cleanest and loudest sound.

[@Lakeshowmanni]

I have elektros. What can I replace the stylus with?

[@deps420]

Will the scratch ones work well with rekordbox DVS?

[@BopDJstore]

Yes they will!

[@bennydigital8184]

I'm in total cartridge limbo, I use both DVS & Vinyl, could someone please just tell me what to buy and put me out of my misery, thanks a lot.

[@andinbriwel1092]

do you do allot of scratching? Also note, the stylii themselves are interchangeable and can be purchased on their own, so you could buy one complete and other stylii for other purposes.

[@detroittrickster3327]

@@andinbriwel1092 so youre saying if i bought club needles in a digital cart it would sound way better ?

[@andinbriwel1092]

Detroit Trickster I don’t know about “way better,” but the club stylus tip will fit on the digital cart. I don’t own the digitals, so I can’t say first hand, but they are supposed to sound pretty great on their own. I have the blue concorde DJ carts and the white scratch and a club stylus. If I’m ripping records into the computer I’ll put the club stylus on the DJ cart and get a bit of improvement in detail, but even the DJ’s sound really good on their own.

[@detroittrickster3327]

@@andinbriwel1092 thx bro um I dont like how the reds sound on reg vinyl .what do you think of the blues on their own for normal records?

[@andinbriwel1092]

Detroit Trickster I have them and I really like them. Their sound is a very good overall balance, fast response and still good detail. Great bass response as well. The clubs are just a tiny bit more detailed in the higher frequencies, but really, you’re only going to notice that on mint vinyl that’s mastered super well. I like the sound of the blue ones and thats what lives on my turntables almost all the time.

[@jamesradskijr.9745]

Just ordered the pair blue mk2 hope to be satisfied, considered all but at the end of the day sold me, going for mixing straight up vinyl with solid back cuing and least amount of vinyl wear and light scratching. I was a stanton headshell 4+ v500 for yrs, time 2 upgrade. Any thoughts and opinions welcome

[@adriandotg]

how did it go? I'm planning on getting the MK2 DJ (orange & blue one)

[@Niles7787]

Which one gives the best low end detail? I’ve been using the DJ S for years and have been really happy about them, but I feel like sometimes there’s some oomph in the bass missing when compared to a digital lossless copy of the same record

[@AmbientWanderer]

well, that could also be due to the mixer that you're using.

[@Niles7787]

@@AmbientWanderer actually there’s no mixer involved. I rip my records from a Technics SL1200 with a DJ S needle, through a Radiant J33 Phono Preamp into a Roland DuoCapture sound card. The result is a super clean, dynamic digital copy, but when compared to the same track bought from a digital store there’s some low end missing. In the meantime I’ve tried the Ortofon MKII Club, but with that one the low end is distorted.

[@AmbientWanderer]

@@Niles7787 oh okay, well I was doing a test today between two of my Concorde carts. One is the Mixx mk2 and the other is a DJ-E mk1 which has an elliptical stylus. I recorded both tracks with each cart through my Allen and Heath Xone mixer, and I noticed right away that the elliptical stylus had quite a bit more low end and better stereo separation. I don't know why you're getting distortion in the low end with the club mk2s. Could it possibly be that they're defective?

[@Niles7787]

It could be, I’d need to check with another MKII Club. For DJ purposes I use a Xone96 and when used there it sounded fine, so I didn’t think it could be defective. But it’s worth a try; thanks for the feedback

[@realize_music]

Thanks a lot for the review! what is track ID in the video?

[@ryankdahl]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKDQfaOYfpiMqpI

[@mattc487]

...What if you're scratching TCV?

[@nicskeptic]

Any one know which ones work or dont work with straight tone arm

[@g-track5065]

Hello can you scratch with the DVS one?

[@sunderjirahim]

I do, the needle has never skipped.

[@BeersAndBeatsPDX]

I've been using m-447's for decades and now that they're gone I need to find something else. Orton has way too many models.

[@ChrisBrideauMedia]

Get the scratch.

[@BeersAndBeatsPDX]

@@ChrisBrideauMedia Got the Mix's. Happy with them.

[@ChrisBrideauMedia]

@@BeersAndBeatsPDX That's what I just ordered as well. I hear they're great for the money. I ordered the scratch but they had none left. Mix was my second choice.

[@BeersAndBeatsPDX]

@@ChrisBrideauMedia I just do basic mixing, no scratching or juggling, so for the price they are perfect for me. A little quiet with dvs but that's what the gain knob is for.

[@russell7768]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGfRY4Z9a6iHjKs there are jico replacements for the m447

[@juancarlosflash]

the Ortofon Concorde Mk2 Digital can be used with time code vinyl records and traditional vinyl records?

[@tintintb1980]

Yes

[@Ninja_Gaijin]

yes, but it will sound shit, don't do it. why not just get anything OTHER than the digital one?? You don't NEED this 'digital' cart for DVS. And it will make your regular vinyl sound poop with its 1-2kHz mid range boost. Avoid at all costs. DVS does not 'dvs brand' cartridge.

[@jamesp8095]

I own the old Serato 120 which worked fine for both.

[@greg361]

i still think the actual cartridges are basically the same. the stylus is the only thing that varies. which is what im searching for and came across this video.

[@fargoththemoonsugarmaniac]

really?!

[@greg361]

@@fargoththemoonsugarmaniac i dont know, i never found the answer. all i know is each series or line of stylus's can be interchanged and will function. i would like to know what is different in the cartridges though. i dont have the ability to do my own tests to see if there is a difference in sound or stability ect..

[@Android811]

@@greg361 Output signal quality comes from the cart. There are magnets and coils in there that turn the physical movement of the needle into an electrical signal. Cheaper magnets/coils will sound shit no matter what needle you put in it.

[@Ninja_Gaijin]

I think the OM Qbert is probably better.. tracks at 3g recommended and 11mV output.. also why would you buy the 'digital'? Timecode has no issue running with 'regular' (ie any other that is louder enough) cart. As for 'harsh sounds' of 18-20kHz, most people can't hear 18-20kHz and you *might* produce some tiny amount of this sound scratching and pitching up but a lot of records don't even have much of these frequencies. I don't think you'd notice much difference between 18-20kHz top frequency carts. You should have made a lot more emphasis on NOT using the Club for ANY DJ related uses - well, you could, but the argument is to not use elliptical for any DJ or scratch work.. as running ellipticals backwards damages the stylus - so they are expensive and you would go through a lot of styli. So I am presuming the DJ and Scratch are exactly the same design apart from spec changes. I wish Shure were still making styli.

[@FathomSoundProAudio]

Ben Ninja Gaijin the Qbert does track well. Though the highs are slightly on the brittle side, to me. All depends on what you’re ultimately after.

[@andinbriwel1092]

I just ordered a OM Qbert as well. Looking forward to playing it

[@MegaSnake76]

so if I just wanted to play vinyl like normal at home would the concorde club be a good choice for me ?

[@adamdonmez879]

Yes, I, would choose the Club, I do a lot of scratching, so I have a limited edition one from Ortofon called Made From Scratch, but recently I have also added two CDJs to my set up, so I'm looking to get one club to do vinyl transfers to digital files for my CDJs. Also since it sounds like you only will need one, I would pay the extra for the better-sounding cLub needle over one of the others.

[@laurieso678]

Or the Concorde DJs

[@laurieso678]

Sorry my bad they discontinued the dj series

[@adamdonmez879]

@@laurieso678 I still have my DJs set from almost 20 years ago, It's one of my all-time favorite needles!

[@jurajkrajcik4410]

yeah , but according to djing, why to spend money onto needles if there is already "phase" , so you just need needles for vinyl play. phase will provide countless hours of digital play withou need to change "used" needle.

[@garrettdelaney1477]

yea this is exactly what i been thinking but id like to have decent needles as a backup get the true feel of turntables

[@Jean-LouisMayans]

No way. Too expensive. Not for south american markets.

[@peter73belgique6]

what mk2 I must take I have the shure m44-7 which is dead I would like to find the same quality I mix on serato and vinyl

[@lriosramrios1357]

Ortofon Concorde digital (red) it's perfec for vinyl time code

[@peter73belgique6]

okay thank you nice so i can mix by vinyl normal too ?

[@lriosramrios1357]

Hello dear friend, the advantage of the digital ortofon (red with white) is that you can use it for time code and normal vinyl without affecting either of the two types of vinyles, (something that could not be done with the concorde s-120 ( for time code Serato), although they told you that if you could use them with normal vinyl, they did not recommend it). On the other hand, I recommend that when you buy needles, you pay attention to the output voltage since the higher the sound, the stronger the sound, you can better control the sharpness, and do not increase the gain of your mix so both gives you more clear, clean and defined the sound

[@lriosramrios1357]

the sound voltage says "output" (for example 8mv) I recommend 8mv onwards, if you listen to a night club (8mv) and a scrach (10mv) (the mixing console with the same gain) you will notice that the scrach sounds more strong, but with more distortion, so you will have to lower the gain little by little and you will not that it sounds sharper and more defined but with force, I recommend that when adjusting your gain, in the mixer the db does not exceed 8db

[@peter73belgique6]

hello,for me is difficult to choose because my shure m44 is so good. so better to buy digital or club i would like nice sound like shure and strong