Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

I don't think I've heard another pick-up so effortlessly gifted across the board. Admittedly, if you prefer a sonic signature that errs towards a more romantic, warm and soft sound, then Ortofon's latest might not be your cup of tea. Then again, if you really want to hear what's in your precious vinyl grooves, you should make sure you audition the MC Diamond.

Even better, this flagship cartridge does its work unperturbed by record dust and surface noise. I cannot begin to guess what witchcraft Ortofon has worked on its Replicant 100 stylus, but it shrugs pops and clicks aside with disdainful ease. This means that, at the top end, there's exceptional detail retrieval.

All too often, cartridges can fool you into thinking they're unearthing plenty of musical information through a major rise in top-end output that soon becomes wearing; not so the MC Diamond. Yes, this has a gentle lift in output at very high frequencies, but this just serves to open up its sound. On 'Raising Venus' from Malia and Boris Blank's album Convergence [Universal 3740593-2], vocal sibilants were impeccably clean, percussion completely free of 'splash', and the 'tinkling' background synthesiser effects came out of the depths immaculately.

Shine On...
Then there was Malia's voice to savour, which oozed emotion and subtlety of inflection. If you want to be in absolutely no doubt as to what a particular singer or an instrument sounds like, then look no further; the MC Diamond has the gift of generating a wide but incredibly focused soundstage that sets up a huge 3D sonic picture. To call this performance 'immersive' would be something of an understatement.

A part of this is down to the sheer dynamic range the cartridge seems capable of unearthing. Helped by its low levels of surface and groove noise, the MC Diamond faithfully captures everything from a whisper to a roar – you don't need wild and bombastic material to hear it strut its stuff, nor do you need to be listening at high levels. On the other hand, when you do decide to crank something noisy right up, the composure exhibited by the MC Diamond is remarkable, all while it throws you squarely into the mosh pit.

Taking Charge
Also remarkable is the way the MC Diamond treats less than favourable recordings. The 1979 set Time Passages [RCA PL25173] has always been one of my favourite Al Stewart albums, but I perhaps don't play it as often as I should thanks to the rather weedy and lightweight sound of my original copy. However, with Ortofon's cartridge in charge, while it left no doubt that this wasn't Emmy-grade mastering I was hearing, it pulled plenty out of the mix. Stewart's lead vocals on the title track stood clear of the rich backing instrumentation and, for the first time, the alto saxophone solo didn't have me wincing ever so slightly at its stridency.

To clarify further, the MC Diamond might not be able to quite turn a leaden recording into gold, but I'll wager not many cartridges have come this close to sonic alchemy so far. And the bass? Oh my goodness, the bass. The sheer power and weight that this pick-up offers up had me grinning from ear to ear. The synth notes in the Malia and Boris Blank track were truly eyeball-rattling, but blessed with a speed and immediacy that made it clear this wasn't just a big low-end output blundering along.

More alarmingly, the pipe organ on 'Julsång' from Bertil Alving's 1976 masterpiece Cantate Domino [Torsten Nilsson et al; Proprius PROP07762] had the hairs on my arms moving in sympathy when played at somewhat un-neighbourly levels. Fortunately, all this power was accompanied once again by the sort of detail and low-end clarity that one rarely finds together. The bass guitar that backs Jenny Jones on 'Brighton Pier', from her Blessed Northern Daughter EP [Go! Discs GODX 103], was supple and tuneful to the point that one or two 'extra' notes I often miss were brought into easy focus. And when the jangling electric guitars ramped up towards the end of the piece, Ortofon's MC Diamond kept that bassline clean and distinct, which is something of a rarity on this recording.

Laying A Foundation
As a vinyl-lover who has always maintained that, if you get the bass wrong, it's difficult to get everything else right, the MC Diamond lays just about the best sonic foundation I have encountered. I am going to sorely miss this sparkling cartridge when it goes back!

Hi-Fi News Verdict
With the MC Diamond, Ortofon has advanced the cartridge game once more. Improving on the already sublime MC Anna Diamond was a big ask, but the company has done it, coming up with a transducer that is nothing short of exceptional in every respect. Its price will sadly put it out of reach for most, including yours truly, but I can safely say that, in sonic terms, this Diamond is definitely my new best friend.