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Ortofon
In the Beginning was the Sound Track
On the 9th of October 1918, the two Danish engineers, Axel Petersen (1887-1971) and Arnold Poulsen (1889-1952) founded the Electrical Phono Film Company with a few capable and foresighted businessmen who would support the organization financially.
Their aim was to explore the possibility of high-class recording and developing one of the first synchronized sound film systems in the world. Under primitive conditions, the two Danish engineers and their small staff had to solve a number of what were considered insuperable problems.
Ortofon Today
Today Ortofon is a fine mechanical powerhouse, which develops, manufactures and markets the world acclaimed Ortofon cartridges and components for the hearing aids industry.
We benefit from being established in Denmark, a country recognized for its strong tradition in acoustics and its wealth of other high-end manufacturers, who make hearing aids and acoustic measurement equipment, in addition to all aspects of high-end audio.
Ortofon is owned by Danish businessmen and employs a staff of 95 people. The Ortofon manufacturing unit in Nakskov in the south of Denmark has modern machinery combined with experienced operators, so human craftsmanship is delivered with uniform industrial quality.
Founded in Copenhagen, it initially made soundtracks for movies. In 1948 Ortofon developed its first moving coil cartridge, since then more than 300 different cartridges have been developed and manufactured, with our latest being MC Windfeld Ti cartridge.
Acoustics, materials, technology and micro mechanics are key competences in Ortofon's technological prowess. Research and development is done with the company's own engineers supported by a strong network of acoustic know-how and industrial design in Denmark.
The products are sold worldwide through a network of more than 60 importers and Sales subsidiaries in the USA and in Japan.
Ortofon is a Unique Mixture of Heritage & Modern Technology
We preserve our heritage by continuously investing in technology and product development and thus introducing new cartridges. It is our philosophy that even a traditional product like the cartridge can benefit greatly from new technology and industrial competences. Our goal is to bring our products in the forefront of the technology field, in regards to materials, design, magnetic systems and everything the products comprises of.
New technology can take various forms. We now systematically use computer simulation when developing new cartridges, and we consider computer simulation to be a fantastic tool for the selection of components and the devising of the magnetic fields.
Ortofon has a long history and a rich heritage, but the most important point is to have something to offer today’s consumer.
Selective Laser Melting Manufacturing Technique
We look at new technologies that are specifically product related, such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) manufacturing technique.
The SLM is applied to our SPU A90, MC A90, Xpression, MC Anna, SPU A95, MC A95 and the latest one MC Windfeld Ti, the bodies of which have an individual texture completely impervious to resonance.
January 29th 2015 Ortofon received the DTI 3D Print Series Production Prize 2015. The award is granted in recognition of Ortofon's achievements in applying the new technology in the industrial production. Watch the video.
Key Competences in the Technological Process of Ortofon
Our extensive knowledge of vibration properties and characteristics in different shapes and materials has been applied for optimization of cartridges and tonearms, e.g. TA-210.
The TA-210 is given a precision machined slit in each end of the aluminum tube. A piece of Ortofon special vibration damping compound is integrated into each slit: Rubber inserts with high vibration damping properties and Special proprietary TPE compound with excellent damping properties are integrated respectively in the bottom and top slit of the arm tube. Due to these two different materials an extended damping effect is obtained in the largest possible range.
Ortofon core competences in acoustics and micromechanics are ideally suited to the manufacture of bone conductors
Bone conductor is a small vibrator connected to a hearing aid. A bone conductor produces vibrations that are transmitted through the skull to the inner ear where it is perceived as sound.
A bone conductor is a product that requires a very high level of fine mechanical precision to obtain a uniform quality.
The Industrial Capacity
The industrial capacity of Ortofon is based on specially designed machines, that produce small precision components for our cartridges, that in turn have several advantages: we have the volume capacity and we can produce a large number of cartridges with a relatively short lead time.
