Review: Ortofon Concorde MkII Series | Tips and Tricks 

A note, the mk1 Ortofons mostly had recommendations between 2 and 4g for tracking weight, so they could handle 4g. They usually sounded best around 3-3.5g. I forget exactly what forum also but recently was reading a thread where Ortofon rep was answering questions 10 years ago talking about mk1s. You can swap the stylii and get the benefits, just the levels will be whatever the body puts out - "it is the body, not the stylus that determines output (ie: windings on the 4 pole pins)". The main stylus that was different he claimed was the Pink Scratch, as it was designed for higher tolerances in the cantilever or something, for less wear and tear with scratching, compromising between stylus wear, cantilever tolerance and sound quality. As for whether to use elliptical or spherical for DJing: "Just keep in mind that styli were not designed to be played in the reverse direction (remember 20 degree angle, not vertical). Elliptical can be used for "light" back cueing/scratching but will wear the record more (other factors aside) than spherical under that use. In straight forward play, spherical will wear more, elliptical will sound better." "As stated previously, all Ortofon styli are interchangeable ( except the GT) so the Qbert stylus on a Pros S or Nightclub black body will yield same performance at a lower output." from Ortofon, Inc: www.futureproducers.com/forums/search.php?searchid=3017624

This review came out at the perfect time for the reason that shure is discontinuing there needle and I have been looking for reviews on new ortofon concord mk2. There is not that many reviews on this models yet but soon there will be more, for right now you guys got the best review.👌👌

Absolutely brilliant review. Fantastic, covering everything needed to help make a decision and clearly based on proper back-back testing by someone who knows exactly what to look for.

Thanks for the in-depth and honest review Mojaxx, great as always

Thanks for informative review Mojaxx. I just ordered a couple of Ortofon digitals based on your review. Can't wait to get my hands on them!

R.I.P SHURE M44-7's - Great tracking & amazing sound!

I had the Ortofon blue OG for years but switched to M44-G's for a while as the sound quality was rubbish. Decided to give the Club MKII's a try and wow!!! they sound amazing.

I'm glad you covered mixing and matching styli because I just bought a scratch to put on a mix thinking I had cheaply assembled a scratch. Different output levels. Thanks

this is the best review video I have watched on anything. answered all my questions. thank you so much !

Just bouth the Mk2 DJ. The hold the groove well and do have the highs I wanted. Solid purchase.

Thanks for the honest review. Very informative and helped with my decision making post Shure announcement.

Kudos for the SoundCloud comparative clips, very helpful indeed!!! Cheers

wow thanks for actually uploading the waves of each with different styli! great because i also always worry about stereo imbalance, which i now can check in my daw

Another great review Mojax :-) going to order a pair of the Mix Carts :-)

Great feedback. Thanks.

Good video again so good to hear honest expert opinion.

Thanks for the upload💪🐯

Thx Mojaxx, I think the digital will work for me, scratching and mixing in the club

Great review! I was comparing the scratch between digital, but a i only have the serato control vinyl, and 100% DVS user, so went on the digital.

Such a fantastic review. I've always loved Ortofon. Hated the old concordes when the arms would break. I am an OM Ortofon MK1 Nightclub 2 user (the orange ones)......I was thinking about making the switch as I'm happy with my mounted carts.....but that would be silly. Styluses are still available. Thank you for this review.

Dope review!!!!!

crazy info I I needed to hear

Great video man thank you!

I've just bought a set of the Digitals, and I have to say they are fantastic !. I mainly bought them for DVS, and I wasn't expecting much from real vinyl, but wow !! How wrong was I, they sound superb, I'm so impressed. I had the Mk2 "mix" carts before and I was a disapointed with the sound of those with real vinyl, but the Digitals are so much better, well worth buying, perfect sound for DJ'ing :)

I can only hope that analog DJ mixers can make a comeback as well; Formula Sound, Rodec etc.

i just got the club..they sound amazing..i'm really happy with them.

Thank you 🙏

Amazing needles ❤

Since I started mixing on Technics (back in 1991) I thought the Stanton's 500/520al Stylus & Carts were the best because that is what everyone used. Then one day (20 years later) I realised that they sounded terrible, damaging both my ears and my vinyl at the same time! Thank you Ortofon for your great Stylus & Carts!

Been using pro s cart now switched to mix MK2 the difference in sound is night and day and I use to think the pro s sounded good as well, awsome work ortofon

Love the old blue horse DJ cartridge truntable I wonder if the new blue are the same

I prefer the Concorde DJ since I find it having more highs than the others

Which ones the best for mixing / back cueing old skool hardcore from 1990’s ?

It’s the digital good for turntablism?

Who uses that little rubber washer that comes with the Concorde? Is it necessary?

Got these

Any chance of a Tour along the Shelves at the Back?. The one In the blue box, I have one In that box. Got It from Tandy years ago. Are they still doing the Stylus for the Concord Pro2?.

@Mojaxx Please review the Taruya cartridges.

Thanks for the video, I've been looking for a review of these since they came out! I'm looking to replace my Whitelabels as I'm not a fan and fancy a change. What would be the best cart to use as I'd like the 10mv output, but do a bit of scratching here and there and currently don't use DVS? The Scratch or Digital? I still want good sound quality though.

Question : Could you tell me what's the difference (if there's any) between the Concorde MKII Club and the Reloop Concorde Vibe ? Since they're both made by Ortofon, and their only elliptical option, I guess they're pretty much the exact same cartridge with only a different color / logo on it ... Thanks for the review, very interesting as always ! Regards :-)

Thinking about upgrading. Should i buy dj mk2 or mix mk2? I have the blue dj s concordes right now but dont know how old they are and thinking of replacing the cartridge instead of the styli only. Somebody can help?

For Serato; I already have the Serato S-120, would it really benefit me change to the Digital MK II?

Can you give me advice please, i have been using Stanton yellow itrack cartridges with the needles provided... i'm having to change now as cannot obtain them from anywhere is there an alternative with the same output sound.... I have been using an Ortofon black and also tried the grey pro which is greatly lower in volume .... Would appreciate advice Regards Steve

Which one is best for bedroom dj mostly playing house/down tempo?

For the same price I can get either the older digitracks or the mix mk2. What would be the better buy? All I play is old dnb/jungle.

Do these cartridges work with a moving magnet phono box ?

Is the cartridge or stylus responsible for the output voltage? Could I buy the scratch carts for dj'ing etc... but buy just one club styli to put on the scratch cartridge for when I rip vinyl?

Thank you Mojaxx ! Exactly what I needed. What preamp did you use for all these comparative rips ? Its weird that the Club Mk2 is disapointing in this comparision... DJ and Mix sounds better. On other comparision on YT , the Club sounds better.

Has anyone tested the new club over the older nightclub mk2?in terms of sound quality is the new one better than the older?does it worth the replacement?

Hello @Mojaxx, have you reviewed the Reloop Ortofons? Specifically the green digi ones? I'm wondering what you'd recommend? Thank you.

Really Grathfull for your work! But now i don't know if I should buy the Club or the Digital, because I want to use regular Vinyl getting a good sound and Time code getting a good signal! The best of the two worlds...:)

Have you used the Reloop Concorde Vibe? I was thinking of buying a pair of the Concorde Club mkii, but the Vibes seem to have very similar spec, output, etc and a better frequency range.. and are a little bit cheaper

Thanx for the great review and the tests on Soundcloud. My Question: I downloaded them in WAV HiQ Files and had to realise, the MKII Scratch sounds really dull and lifeless in your samples, much worse than the MKII MIX with a Scratch Stylus on top. How come?

Can i put a SCRATCH styli on MIX cart?

I brought the scratches, but they sounded pretty dull on top end. I had to keep cranking the high gains up. Sent back after a few days. Definitely liked the tracking though. I’m really stuck on which ones to buy. The clubs elliptical stylus scares me..

Can I please ask a question roughly how long do the concord cartridges last?. I generally replace stylus every year but have noticed recently the sound seems to have got distorted and I’m sure it’s not just knackered records. Thanks and love your channel. I have had them about 5 years however can’t seem to find this info anywhere. ❤

So essentially for general dj use, price aside, the digital is the best option for real vinyl?

i'm totally confused! i've aimed for CLUB twin, BUT! how come that according to your samples on soundcloud entrly level MIX sound better than expensive CLUB? The highs are much clearer, however the output should be lower, but thats no prob, just put a bit more gain the channel. I'm lookig for a replacement for my ortofon Arkiv needles that i used for ripping - any ideas about the invesment plan for my needs please?

what r your thoughts on using mix or scratch on club stylus? Do they perform the exact same when you interchange?

Would you recommend any of these for only listening and not djing? I have a Teac TN-350 and looking to replace the original AT 95E cartridge

Hey mojaxx, could you demo the Digital’s MK2 with a quick 45 mix, if that’s what you would use? Depending if jico will keep making 447 stylus replacements, I’ll be forced to start using ortofon down the road.

I’ve recently repaired my old 1200s and was gonna get the Concorde Mix because of the price and I also like the plain black. I will mainly be using real vinyl but want to do DVS in the future. Should I just spend the extra $100 and go with the Concorde Digital? Also I want good sound quality for recording but won’t be playing out in clubs.

Can the scratch mk 2 be used toe just mixing old skool hardcore breakbeat from early 90’s with just back cueing type scratching ? Or is it strictly for hip hop style full on scratching ?

They should look for ways to protect the needle from the turntable planter. Because when u are in a reach to drop the needle on the record and u mistakenly drop on the side wheels is going to broke. Shure m44. 7 has protection. By his side one once he drop on the side of the wheel he bounces of

Hi Mojaxx i really appreciate your videos i recently watch this one related to ortofon because I have upgraded my cartdriges. At the end following your thought at 7:42 I bought the digital mkii and I'm in love with them. All my old low recorded vinyl are born again but I have some trouble with a minor part of my 90's 12" mix with particolar high frequencies this vinyl goes off scale and make the highs croak regardless how low the gain is. I wrote to ortofon without answer do you think this is related to my cartdriges or is a normal behaviour for the digital mkii maybe related also to my mixer. Thank

The scratch variant does not look like it has the lateral stabilizer that the Concorde s120 has as those are rock solid.

Do you recommend to buy Digital?

Could someone compare Ortofon Concorde MkII CLUB vs Shure Whitelabel for me? I've been using whitelabels for a long time and was very happy with them... (damn this discontinuation!)

Can I use clubs with dvs?

My new mk2 scratch needles still jump quite often. Does it get better with time? Have her a day.

@5:06 if you do a lot of cutting with them? cutting?

How much weight do you recommend to put on the OC scratch MKII for scratching? 3… 3,5… 4?

Probably a dumb question, but is it possible to use the styli of the concorde mk2 range on the older OM pro cartridge (the short ones you can attach underneath a headshell) 🤔 it looks like the concorde mk2 style are on an angle at the end where you attach it to the cartridge in comparison to the OM pro styli

Concorde Mk2 Mix W Digital Styli is the best sounding one IMHO

I heard my night club MK1s should have last 3 years. Mine are over 10 years old. Just wondering when they are going to die? Also, what is the difference between "E" and "S"?

Hi there, thank you for your work for us. I already had nigh club E, and the night club is for me unless the digital is a good alternative. I know this is off topic in this cartridge video but, for you which is the best sounding mixer, with the best quality audio output. I come from 90's techno and nowadays I listen everything, but I still want to mix techno old and new. Cheers

Can I use it with J shaped tonearm???

How do the mk 2 digital compare for scratching to the mk 2 scratch, do they hold the record the same

So, what about us with s120s? Literally the best cart I've ever used. I hope they keep the styli in stock.

A sound review, wish i had seen this before running out and buying the new DJ model. I was advised that the high pitched tone from needle is very loud with Digital model over DJ how do you find it?

Hello, which of these models would you recommend for performance? Do they preserve the disc or the vinyl disc against wear?

I'm looking for some advice or thoughts on the matter. At the moment I have the Ortofon Concorde Nightclub mk2 cartridges, but the needles need to be replaced now. I'm now doubting wether to buy new replacement nightclub mk2 styli (120$) or invest in the new Concorde mk2 cartridges (240$) (I'm thinking the scratch-version has good specs (Spherical stylus, nice high output and obviously solid tracking) and is getting pretty amazing reviews). My thoughts: I'm concerned about the wear on my records when using the special elliptic styli that comes with the nightclub mk2 (but I want atleast 8mV output, so its the only option on the old concorde series). I've read a lot about elliptical vs spherical styli and there's a lot of contradicting theories. Basically I use them both at home and in clubs for dj'ing oldschool techno and oldschool trance with a lot of detail (quite some old worn vinyls in between). I don't scratch but I do normal backcueing when mixing. Should I be worried about my records using the nightclub mk2's? Also the nightclub mk2's do reproduce quite some distortion on the high frequencies especially on the more worn out records, I'm thinking that would be less a concern with for example the Concorde MK2 scratch? Some advice or thoughts on the matter would be much appreciated (especially on the elliptical vs spherical in concerns of recordwear and audioquality)

....long story short,because I Dj a lil,sample a lot of old records,..I went back to my Stanton 680 HP,...Sounds Great with my old Technics!....Left Orfton...Right Stanton!

does these work on a stanton t52 straight arm turntable?

Is concord mix the green , suitable for straight tone arms ??

Concord Club mk2 can play 2.5 if one is concerned with record wear and surface noise. No higher than 3 for sure. Either way, incredible mid-range!

a) Elephant-> Room: I'm pretty sure that the vinyl "whitepaper" says records are made to be played under a 5g load (tracking). b) Maybe I'm too old but I downloaded the WAVs and can hardly tell a difference on my HD 280s. My ears are definitely shot but I also blame the track choice. Could you use Primal Scream's Loaded or something groovy next time please? Something with real vocals and bass and maybe wind instruments? On a record with lots of pops and scratches? Thanx :)

Im confused; Should I get a pair of "scratch" or "digital" for mostly DVS based scratching?

so what's the best for converting vinyl to digital ? the club or the digital ?

You should enable the dl function, cause SC is compromitting the sound quality from the example to hear. You only have wav, when you dl the example. Makes not really sense on this way. I`m sorry ;)

hola que tal ,,, cual es el precio de las rojas

Can't believe shure are going I live their carts

Nice review but still a right bloody nightmare to choose between them though 😂 I prefer a warm sound and mainly play electro and techno. How about any experiences with the VNL cartridge&styli?

I just bought some Mixx carts and broke them in ..second thoughts though now...just questioning the high tracking weight Ortofon requires. my friend says they destroy his timecode vinyl. I think a better option would be going back to Shure cart /Jico styli.

05:44 Why would there be lots of warmth in the bass on this type of needle that is designed for scratching? Usually you would lower your bass tones on the scratch deck channel to avoid needle feedback and that horrible bass rumble sound you get. Doesn't really make sense to me.

Do these all call more wear than a 447?

What cartridges should you use then with a straight tonearm?

Could never work out why it has taken 20 odd years for these to have replaceable tone arm lifts. Having said that, I've never broken the ones I've had and going back to the 90s so maybe not enough need for them.

Does anyone know if these are compatible with Stanton T62 turntables?

Hi, thanks to your recommendation I got Ortofon Concorde MKII Club just for the listening, not a DJ. It's SQ is awesome. Are there any even superior DJ Ortofons (or other) to this regarding SQ? I'd buy one. Thank again!