Introduction
Headshells are one of those pieces of DJ equipment that basically never breaks, can't be upgraded and is more or less identical between manufacturers. Technics, Numark, Vestax, KAM, Citronic, Stanton and Taiwanese OEMs all vie for to provide you with a headshell, and Ortofon provides the SH-4 .
It's available in silver, black, metallic pink or metallic blue. Today we have the black and blue headshells mounted to an Australian fellow's decks for a look.
Headshell What?
It's a headshell. It's the bit you screw the 1/2" mount phonograph cartridge to, then screw onto the tonearm. Unless your cartridge is a Concorde style, in which case you don't need a headshell at all. If you're reading this review, you probably already know this. If you don't know what a headshell does and thought you'd read this review of an esoteric piece of milled aluminium regardless...
Well... I don't know what that implies. But it does not paint a picture of perfect mental health.
I also have these fascinating stepper motor drive adaptors you may be interested in.
Usually the only people in the market for headshells are those who have lost the one provided with pretty much every turntable on the planet, or who need to build a pair of backup cartridges for gigging that they can swap in without fiddling around with wires and screwdrivers.
Headshells are pretty difficult to break, being cast spring steel or milled aluminium. Sometimes magnesium and other exotic metals are sometimes used in fancier headshells. The HS-4 is aluminium should it matter to you.
Hi-fi quack types will tell you that the headshell can make a huge amount of difference to the
'listenability', 'timbre' and 'depth' of your music. They're wrong. A headshell will not change the
sound of your stereo in the slightest past psychosomatic effects unless you're comparing it to a
block of lead with a cartridge glued on, or to a shell with faulty or rusted leads. There is very,
very little separating different makes of headshell, the only bits worth noting being the conductors used and the general build quality. A grope was had to discover its ergonomic properties, and for those vain DJs (read: DJs) out there, the looks are also covered.
The Ortofon SH-4 - One of Millions
So what is the difference between the SH-4 and the myriad other headshells on the market? on the surface, not a whole lot. It's very well made and it's pretty, but at first glance there is
nothing particularly different between this headshell from the remarkably similar headshells made by every turntable manufacturer and their corporate parent. Unless of course Ortofon happens to make them in the exact shade of rose pink that you need for your setup, in which case these are plainly about five times as good as all that other junk.
Almost every turntable or cartridge manufacturer has their own line of anodised aluminium headshells, and Ortofon is no different - these are a little slicker than most, but they aren't different enough that you'll immediately pick it from any other shell on the market unless you spend a lot of time using headshells - which conveniently, DJs do.
What You Gettin' At
The HS-4 comes attractively wrapped in a clear package with an internal frame holding your shiny new purchase in place, signal wires already attached. Two nuts and two pairs of headshell screws are included, two long, two short - so you won't have a huge length of steel protruding on short mount cartridges, or have to track down some different screws for some of the more 'generously proportioned' carts on the market.
With an almost worrying degree of attention to detail, the nuts are actually tiny thumbscrews. The texture on them lets you pinch the nut and drive the screw without having to destroy your fingernails on an ordinary hex nut. Someone who has mounted a lot of headshells thought long and hard about this design, a theme that recurs with this product and Ortofon gear in general.
In addition to the screws, there are also a pair of rubber grommets included if you're worried about isolating it from vibration as much as possible - though the vast majority of your rumble will come through the platter, not the tonearm. It's a nice touch.
The presentation of this product is sterling.
Build Quality and Electrical Noise
The SH-4 is a very nicely made headshell. It uses an aluminium body, anodized in your choice of
black, silver, blue or pink, and the four-pin connector bayonet is stainless steel with a rubber washer. The finish is extremely tough, it's a coloured anodized layer - more or less oxidized aluminium with pigment in it. As a result, these shells will take a bit of abuse and come out shining - there's no paint on it to flake off other than the printed Ortofon brand. To give you an idea, I have a rather enthusiastic approach to mounting cartridges, and this finish shrugged off the slips and slices of a screwdriver with nary a blemish.
The finger lever on the shell is part of the body, there's no welded seam and it's plenty thick
enough to stand up to serious abuse.
A punter could step on this headshell and it would still work fine. Might scuff it up and bend the
arm a bit, but it won't be leaving this mortal realm any time soon. And no, I'm not going to try
that. Not even in the interests of science. And no guarantees about the cartridge that happens to be
mounted in it at the time. Your mileage may vary at industrial clubs where punter footwear is likely to be a little bit more... chunky.
As for the electrical interconnects, all the terminals are gold-plated and the tonearm wires are
copper cored with gold-plated connectors that are probably brass. For all intents and purposes, it
doesn't come better than this without going into serious hi-fi quack territory. Top marks for the
electrical properties of this shell.
Overall while very similar to competing headshells, the Ortofon SH-4 has a noticeable edge on quality over the similarly-priced competition in the turntable manufacturer camps: The Stanton H4-S, Vestax HS-1 and Numark HS-1. Where other shells have edges that are a little too sharp, the Ortofon is perfectly rounded while retaining that sharp look, where other shells have a short stubby hook of a lever the Ortofon has a graceful long loop. The finish on the SH-4 is again, hard to go past in comparison to the competition, this is a very well coated headshell, especially when comparing it to the thinner less complete anodization of Vestax's competing entry - or the painted finish of OEMs or Stanton and Numark headshells.
The SH-4 is also nice to look at, giving that warm fuzzy "I have shiny things" feeling. It comes in several colours to match your tastes and/or drapes, and they're pretty much the best option when compared with the other name-brand DJ shells in terms of looks, barring perhaps the minimalist black Technics shells.
The Limitation You Probably Won't Notice
The SH-4 is a bit unusual in that it only has slots to accommodate 1/2" mount headshells. For a DJ, this is basically meaningless, since absolutely every single DJ cartridge on the market uses a 1/2" mount. It does mean that this shell cannot be used with some of the more exotic hi-fi cartridges on the market though - so if you're looking for a hi-fi headshell, look elsewhere.
Technical Finance
These headshells have an RRP of U$35 but can be found on the open market for about U$25 each. It's not the cheapest around, but it's certainly not expensive by the (ludicrous) standards of the hi-fi headshell market At $50 to outfit a pair of decks though, you need some serious disposable income, or have to really,really hate the colour of the ones you already have to buy these headshells for cosmetic reasons.
For upmarket DJ shells to outfit second hand decks though, these are a pretty good option financially - they're about five dollars per cheaper than the Vestax HS-1, while being arguably a significantly better product, and they're approximately 3.5 metric kidneys less expensive than a Technics headshell. For a little bit more money over the Stanton H4-S or the Numark HS-1 you do get a very well made and very, very shiny headshell as opposed to a bit of an eyesore. And just about anyone is vain enough to add that extra $10-20 worth of finish to their prized decks. And yes, Vestax and Numark do use the same product code for their headshells. Not that the SH-4 and the H4-S are much apart either...
That said, they don't stack up all that well if you want to use them as backup headshells. Stanton and Numark headshells tend to be a bit cheaper at around $15 per, and generic shells can be bought for between $5 and $10 each from specialist suppliers, making the OEM a cheaper option by a slab of beer. The Stanton and OEM shells are comparitively ugly, granted, but they'll work just the same, and some of the OEM headshells are actually quite slick in a plain sort of way. Consider a cheaper OEM headshell if they're only going be used for half an hour at one gig, ever, when one of your carts has an argument with someone's beer and loses it.
But you totally want to buy these anyway and use them on your main decks, relegating whatever else you had to backup status. These headshells are nice.
Touchy-feely New Ager
The time I've spent with this headshell has been a true pleasure. The lift lever sits perfectly on my finger, whether rested on the body of the finger or pinched at the tip, and generally just feels
'nice'. It's hard to gauge how a headshell feels when you're shifting around, but I have absolutely no motivation to put my sharp and angular Vestax shells back where they were, and I think that says a lot.
To use, this is a nice design all round; it feels like one of those ultra-minimalist designer chairs that despite having half the bits missing is effortlessly ergonomic.
Conclusion
These headshells are extraordinarily well made, durable and comfortable to use. They're pretty, the package presentation is the slickest around, and they're even really easy to install cartridges in thanks to an obsessive-compulsive screw-and-nut mechanical engineer at Ortofon. The HS-4 screams quality, and backs up its slick looks with remarkable ease of use.
As a replacement for headshells lost while moving house or on the road, or to go with second-hand turntables that came without, the Ortofon SH-4 is an extraordinarily strong candidate among the various name-brand options. It's a bit nicer looking and quite a bit better made than the Vestax equivalent at the same price point, and it's half the price of the Technics equivalent. So if you aren't keen on saving money by buying OEM, the SH-4 is the best headshell around for your money.
Over time I've used every headshell that I've mentioned above bar the Stanton H4-S, plus a smattering of hi-fi and OEM shells, and I personally like the Ortofon SH-4 the best of the lot. But full disclosure: that may very well be because I can buy it in pink.
Strengths:
- Pretty
- Durable
- Ergonomic
- Good value
Weaknesses:
- Not cheap enough for your backup cartridges
- Er...
- It doesn't come with free money?
Better than: Vestax HS-1, Numark HS-1, Stanton H4-S
Worse than: Seriously? Not a whole lot.
But: For backup carts, $5 OEMs are probably a better option financially.
