Excelent Bass without the colouration,lovely mid range, smooth but crisp treble. Detailed and cohearant. Musical sound where all the parts work together to form acomplete picture - not a load of separate parts thrown together.

Hard to say. I'd have to live with it for a while longer to see if I can find any.

I purchased the MC25FL to replace an old Ortofon MC15mk2S. I have been through a fair few cartridges over the years and find that I generally prefer the silky sound of a moving coil. I have only just fitted the MC25FL to my Gyrodec/RB300 but I was imediatly impressed by the overal sound in that it was very natural with what appears to be 'lot's of everything'. Whereas the MC15 tended to a slightly 'plummy' upper bass (like the MC10mk2S) this one has a tight and powerfully extended bass with little or no overhang.The mid range was similar but smoother than the MC15 and the top crisp and clean without any nasties. Additionally there is more detail - not in your face and fatiguing but a pleasant musical picture that hangs together as a whole. I noticed things like a Bass player left a finger touching a string after it was plucked resulting in a slight buzz at the end of a note on a piece of music I thought I knew inside out. I know there is always something better out there - but this is great sound for the money and I got it cheaper by exchanging my old one. If you are concidering somthing in this price bracket - then I would thoroughly recomend this - unless you want something less neutral.

Similar Products Used:

Ortofon MC15mk2S; Ortofon MC10mk2S; Audio Technica AT-F5 OCC; Denon DL103S

Van Den Hull Modified Ortofon MC25 with Boron Cantilever and VDH tip: Very Good tracking, Excellent Balance, Astonishing Detail, Dynamics

Needs a good quality MC Phono Stage, Needs to STRIP off it's metal body to perform best (quite easy to do)

And i thought the standard MC25 sounded good!
After an naughty drape was blown by the wind and chopped off my MC25's cantilever, i sent my cartridge to Van Den Hull where they replaced the original cantilever with a Boron one with a VDH tip.
Wow! The already excellent MC25 became like a million dollars.
Even better tracking, great speed, Dynamics and very flat Balance. Detail retrieval is astonishing competing with much more expensive cartridges.
The sad part is that i really don't know if VDH does this modifications anymore to third party cartridges.
So i hope i will not be disappointed in case i ever want to re-tip my MC25 Van Den Hull(ed)!

Similar Products Used:

Ortofon MC15, Standard Ortofon MC25, Audiotechnica AT110E

Well balanced overall sound, great value

Possible quality control problems

I totally agree with the review below by Jeff Phillips. The MC-25FL is a great cartridge, it does everything well, bass mids, details, high-end extension. It is definitely one of the best MCs available anywhere near it's price range. It was more detailed than the Grado, and had a much more lush and warm sound then the way more expensive Transfiguration, which might have been a bit more detailed than the MC-25, but sounded harsh in my system. Only problem is i had to return one sample because of excessive noise in one of the channels. The replacement works flawlessly though. If you buy one, just make sure you get a guarantee and use the cartrdige a lot when you first get it. also, get the FL version (fine-line stylus) - harder to set up than elliptical but will have better detail. Value is a definite 5-star rating and I have to give it 5 overall because since it has out performed some very good cartridges.

Similar Products Used:

Grado Reference Sonata, Transfiguration Spirit, Blue Point, etc.

The Ortofon MC25FL is a real bargain in the world of moving coils. I preferred it to the higher priced MC30 Super MKII. Whereas the MC30 offered much detail, it was "icy" cold. The MC25FL is warmer with a midrange and bass as good as the wood-bodied Grados but with more top end extension.

Excellent Bass.
Superb Tracking.
Good Soundstage.
Nice smooth midrange.
Not bright or edgy.

Not as ultra-quiet as some higher end low output moving coil cartridges that I have heard, but then those all cost a lot more too.

I installed the Ortofon MC25FL low output moving coil phono cartidge last week and have been listening to it intently now that it has about 25 hours on it. It replaced a Sumiko Blue Point Special which I was never very happy with, although I truly tried to like it for the last year. The Ortofon was purchased on sale for only $225 from www.needledoctor.com

The LP rig is a Thorens TD-125 MkII with the new Thorens acrylic platter and stabilizer, with a medium mass Helius Aureus arm on an acrylic armboard. The cartridge was aligned with an Osaka protractor, set to 2.0 grams with a Shure scale and checked thoroughly with the Telarc Omnidisc. VTA was adjusted so that the arm height is just a little lower than level to the record surface. You have to look hard to notice that the back of the arm is slightly lower than the front of the arm. This rig will track anything!

The Ortofon is much warmer and smoother sounding than the BPS, plus it has great bass and the BPS didn't have any! The soundstage is good, but not quite as wide and deep as some more expensive cartridges. However, what is truly impressive is the overall tonal balance which is much more natural than the BPS. The bass is outstanding! I am still scratching my head over why everyone says such great things about the BPS, when it in fact sounds so poor compared to this middle of the product line Ortofon MC25FL.

This experiment really makes me wonder what the more expensive Ortofons sound like, when the MC25FL is already such a fine achievement!

Kind Regards, Chris

Similar Products Used:

Sumiko Blue Point Special, Sumiko Alchemist, Grado Signature 8

Product desciption:-low output moving coil cartridge
-0.5mV @ 5cm/s
-Fine Line stylus
-standard 22 degrees VTA
-black metal body
-$400

This is a fairly recent entry-level MC cartridge from
Ortofon, probably based on the older Q-series and
MC-20/30 models.

I use it now in a GyroDec/RB-300 turntable, and its sound
it neutral, easy on the ear, dynamic, and with a very
spacious soundstage. It has the musicality of my old
Denon DL-301, and it lacks the brittleness and the
nervous temperament of my AT OC-9. Tracking is exemplary
for an affordable MC, and the FL stylus guarantees that
even end-of-side grooves are traced without loss of treble.

This must make it one of the best MC cartridges at the
price. USe it in arms like the Rega RB-300 and the
SME 309, IV and V.


Two remarks:

1.Quality control is not as it should be: my first sample
sounded dull and has 2dB channel imbalance.
I guess that the more expensive MC-10 Supreme is much
like the 25FL, but with better quality assurance.

2.There is a cheaper version with an elliptical stylus,
the MC-25E.