Ortofon-Serato S-120:
Grip the Record Like Never Before

The S-120 DJ pick-up cartridge, co-designed by market leaders Ortofon and Serato, is a shining example of how modern tools can help advance the possibilities of 'traditional' devices. This new cartridge carries with it a completely new technology, making it entirely dissimilar to any other cartridge in history. This technology, called asymmetric suspension, takes cartridge performance into the future.

Technological advancements

By visiting the Technology Institute of Denmark in 2008, Ortofon set out to understand how a cartridge acts within a vinyl groove, especially when reversing, stopping and cueing a record. Advanced research tests under a huge resolution microscope helped engineers clarify a direct relationship between wider, less restricted tracking ability and minimised record skip. As a consequence, Ortofon engineers set out to expand on their advanced knowledge of micro-technologies; a venture which eventually culminated in the invention of an asymmetric rubber suspension system, unique to the S-120.

Asymmetric suspension is actually a counter-intuitive principle; it fundamentally allows the cantilever to move out of equilibrium within a record groove, in order to allow for minimal needle-skip. By its very nature, as a cantilever moves increasingly in a sideways motion, the chance of vertical movement (i.e. the stylus lifting away from the record wall) is increased. To visualise this (rudimentarily), imagine the chance of vinyl-skip within a traditional cartridge, as a vector in relation to sideways movement…



Traditional rubber suspension systems used in cartridge manufacture have previously only allowed the cantilever to move in a balanced, uniform way horizontally. That is, they offered the same performance on either side of the cantilever. However, this meant that if the stylus was forced in one particular direction, or moved in a vigorous motion, the suspension was unforgiving and would cause the stylus to move rapidly side-to-side, eventually culminating in skip. Now the new suspension allows for the cantilever to move in the record groove in a non-uniform way, accounting for almost any amount of dirt, dust or loud sections within a pressing, as well as, more importantly for the DJ, through any irregular movements (i.e. touching the vinyl).

This is achieved by a slight imbalance in the suspension shape. Essentially, one side is softer and more malleable than the other. Therefore, when there is an irregular movement or obstruction, the tendency to move side-to-side is softened and the cartridge can continue within the groove. So, re-visiting the graph an S-120 looks more like this…



Therefore, the development of asymmetric suspension has essentially allowed the S-120 cart to combine an amazing amount of vertical rigidity with unprecedented levels of horizontal tracking ability. Indeed, by reaching 120 micrometres of tracking ability, the S- 120 handles the groove better than any existing DJ cartridge at any speed, in any direction. So how exactly does this translate to benefits for DJs?

Features, Advantages and Benefits

The best tracking performance for scratching and turntablism
To a DJ who requires the best tracking performance for scratching and turntablism, the Ortofon-Serato S-120 offers an unprecedented level of skip resistance and the ability to choose any tracking force between 1.5 and 10 grams. In fact, with the Concorde version, an auxiliary weight is included in order to achieve additional tracking force. This not only facilitates a DJs ability to perform more demanding routines, but it also provides far less requirement for time-consuming setup and tonearm balancing.

Absolute flexibility in all settings
Unlike other cartridges, the S-120 will exhibit the same sound quality characteristics regardless of tracking force. Previous to the creation of the S-120's asymmetric suspension, the sound quality and ability to stick to the groove was greatly dictated by the tracking force being used – too little tracking force would often lead to the stylus jumping out of the groove during a loud passage, distorted bass response, and often severe groove damage. Conversely, too much tracking force would limit the movement of the stylus, making backcueing problematic and leading to poor treble response; it would also damage the suspension irreparably. The S-120 makes these concerns a thing of the past.

Elimination of setup and calibration requirements
Since the S-120's performance is unrestricted by excess tracking force, the necessity to spend surplus time adjusting tracking force during a live gig is greatly reduced. In fact, the S-120 exhibits less bias (or skate) than any other cartridge, which not only adds to its supreme groove holding ability, but also allows it to track the groove more evenly than any other cartridge. Of course, the output voltage of the S-120 has been increased to 10.0 mV, yielding exceptional timecode performance and a high signal-tonoise ratio during use with SL1 and SL3 interfaces.

Professional level of sound quality
Finally, the extremely high tracking ability achieved by the S-120 is responsible for providing a level of sound quality never thought possible from contemporary DJ cartridges. The asymmetric suspension systems means that, when playing traditional vinyl, DJs will experience balanced, accurate, and even-handed sound quality, which rivals even the sonic capabilities of cartridges typically reserved only for home playback.

Vinyl wear reduced to an absolute minimum
The S-120 is perfectly suited towards collectors of dance music singles, because vinyl wear, as it traditionally exists to the DJ, is reduced to an absolute minimum. The exceptional tracking ability of the S-120 stylus makes it possible to play the loudest pressings (even those with overmodulated bass) at a bare minimum of tracking force, allowing for a significant reduction of record wear.