Vinyl LP LP Ortofon Test Record

The new Ortofon test recording is designed to let you test your HiFi system in the most natural environment at home. The test recording contains special test signals designed to analyze the performance of the cartridge, as well as its interaction with your tonearm and turntable.

Before testing the cartridge, verify that the HiFi system is working. The left speaker should be connected to the left channel of the amplifier and vice versa; both speakers should work in phase and be optimally located in the room.
The test recording is designed to play through your system with integrated RIAA alignment. The volume control is recommended to be set at a moderate level.

Please refer to the instructions of the player and tonearm for proper installation and alignment, adjust the tonearm so that it is parallel to the recording surface, set the vertical tracking force and creep according to the recommended technical data of the cartridge and adjust the protrusion on the stylus.

New 15-precision pressing
Each side of the recording consists of 15 tracks that were cut from 1-4 to 5-15:

1. Sweep frequency Left channel 800 Hz - 50 kHz. Magazine. 28 sec Linear Cut * (800 - 20,000 Hz ± 1.5 dB)
2. Frequency sweep Right channel 800 Hz - 50 kHz. Magazine. 28 sec Linear Cut * (800 - 20,000 Hz ± 1.5 dB)
3. Sweep frequency Left channel 800 Hz - 50 kHz. Magazine. 28 sec Linear Cut * (800 - 20,000 Hz ± 1.5 dB)
4. Sweep frequency Right channel 800 Hz - 50 kHz. Magazine. 28 sec Linear Cut * (800 - 20,000 Hz ± 1.5 dB)
5. Reference tone 1000 Hz 5 cm / sec.
6. Reference tone 1000 Hz 5 cm / sec.
7. Reference tone 1000 Hz 5 cm / sec.
8. Reference tone 1000 Hz 5 cm / sec.
9. Tracking ability, lateral peak 50 μm
10. Tracking ability, lateral 60 microns peak
11. Tracking ability, lateral peak 70 μm
12. Tracking ability, transverse peak 80 μm
13. Tracking ability, lateral 90 microns peak
14. Tracking ability, lateral peak 100 μm
15. 2.7 ms square waveform 3: 7 duty cycle

* Recording has a constant amplitude of speed throughout the scan.

1-4 Frequency Sweep - A tool for checking the frequency response
There are several factors that can affect the frequency response, including cable capacity, cartridge loading, tracking power, and worn parts. Because of this, it can be difficult to achieve a perfectly flat frequency response. Sometimes, by making small compromises when loading a cartridge, a better overall frequency response can be achieved. Given the foregoing, the signal should be clean during the sweep.

5-8 Reference signal for outputting the test channel
With this standard reference signal, can I check the correct connections of the left and right channels, the balance of the channels and the speed of the turntable.

9-14 Tracking Test, Side Modulation 315 Hz
These tracks contain a 315 Hz signal recorded as the amplitudes of the peaks 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 micrometers increase. Refer to your cartridge’s tracking ability value in the technical specifications. Your cartridge should be able to track the actual level without sound distortion. Inability to track can be heard as moving away from a pure tone or spraying and intermittent tone. You can use balance management to determine if this is one or both channels. In the case of different tracking capabilities in the left and right channels, it is probably necessary to adjust the tonality correction using ice skating. If both channels cannot track correctly, then the vertical tracking force should be increased until no further improvement in the tracking force is achieved.

15. 2.7 ms square waveform 3: 7 duty cycle
When monitoring the output of your cartridge using an oscilloscope, you will see a square wave located exactly one above the other if the connection to the cartridge is correct.

After successfully completing the above test procedures, you can verify that your cartridge is optimized. However, the human ear is very sensitive to differences in tone distortion; its level depends on the condition of the stylus and wear.

To maintain optimal sound reproduction and minimize wear on your recordings, as well as on your stylus, we recommend the following procedure before and after each playback:

• Carefully remove dust from the recording surface using a thin anti-static brush or cloth before each use.
• Remember to remove dust from the diamond tip before and after playing each recording
• I try to keep the electrical contacts clean and lubricate the thumbscrew on the tonearm; Ortofon sometimes recommends a lightweight contact cleaner spray, such as the DeoxIT® Gold G-Series, in the tonearm socket.

It should be noted that some phono equalizers can generate some tone distortion that cannot be attributed to the cartridge.