History of the Ortofon brand: from sound films to pickup heads
Ortofon is a rather narrow Danish company: it produces (mostly) pickup heads for turntables. Moving in the record groove on the plate, the needle vibrates. A sound pickup is a device that converts mechanical vibrations into an electrical signal, which is further amplified and reproduced by a speaker system. Ortofon was a pioneer in the industry and remains one of the market leaders to this day: it produces sound pickups that are used by music lovers and DJs.
Photo by Jarle Refsnes / CC BY-ND
The history of the company began in 1918: engineers Arnold Paulson and Axel Petersen teamed up to develop audio equipment for a new sphere - sound cinema. The company was then called the Electrical Phono Film Company, and their goal was to create the world's first system for film dubbing, that is, to think of a way to accompany the video sequence with good quality synchronous sound.
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In 1923, Paulson and Petersen developed and obtained a patent for a synchronous shooting system. She worked as follows: the sound was written on a separate film, moving with the average speed of the film in a movie camera. Sound vibrations were recorded by changing the width of the writing stroke (phonogram of variable width).
October 12, 1923 the first sound film, voiced in a similar way, was shown in the hall of the Palace Theater in Copenhagen. Engineers issued several licenses for the use of their System Petersen and Paulson (System Petersen og Poulsen) to European, and then to American companies that were involved in the production of films.
After that, the company began to produce related equipment: condenser microphones, oscilloscopes, playback amplifiers, and so on. Some movie cameras and equipment for film projectors, then developed by Danish engineers, remained in use until 1968.
During World War II, the company (in secret) was engaged in improving the technology of recording and reproducing sound from records. The new cutter has become a true mini-revolution: it helped expand the recording frequency range from 5 to 14 kHz. By the end of 1945, the Danish record company Tono had already “cut” the recordings on the new equipment. This was made possible by the work of one of the company's engineers, Holger Christian Arenstein. In 1946, the company changed its name to Fonofilm Industri A / S.
However, there was another problem - there was not yet a sound pickup that could reproduce the sound in the quality in which it was recorded by the cutting head. Fonofilm engineers dealt with this task.
The world's first moving-coil pickup (MC-type, model AB) was released by the company in 1948.
The principle invented by the company was later used in the mass production of mono and (later) stereo pickup heads for vinyl playback. Production of AV-like models lasted for more than 50 years, largely due to the interest of music lovers and collectors who restore the players of those years.
Just a few years later, the name that we know now sounded for the first time - the “daughter” of Fonofilm Industri A / S, Ortofon A / S, was created. The word Ortofon is a combination of two Greek words: orto (translated as “pure” or “correct”) and fon (“sound”).
In 1957, the company released stereo heads and began to develop a stereo pickup SPU (stereo pick-up). Mass production began in 1959. Then the target audience of the development was professional sound engineers, and the pickups ordered mainly radio companies.
SPU was developed by engineer Robert Gudmandsen (Robert Gudmandsen), later became known as " Mr. SPU ". He formulated the principles of development, which are still used in the company in the manufacture of cartridges: low impedance and coils with a minimum number of turns. Gudmandsen joined the company in 1941, worked there for 50 years, and in his free time he often tested his products at home — which, according to company representatives, was very pleased with his neighbors and homeworkers.
Over its history, Ortofon has developed and launched hundreds of new cartridge models, developed new technologies, and even opened a branch in Japan. But many traditional practices used in the company so far.
Photo Guy Sie / CC BY-ND
Photo by Jarle Refsnes / CC BY-ND
Start: the birth of sound film
The history of the company began in 1918: engineers Arnold Paulson and Axel Petersen teamed up to develop audio equipment for a new sphere - sound cinema. The company was then called the Electrical Phono Film Company, and their goal was to create the world's first system for film dubbing, that is, to think of a way to accompany the video sequence with good quality synchronous sound.
')
In 1923, Paulson and Petersen developed and obtained a patent for a synchronous shooting system. She worked as follows: the sound was written on a separate film, moving with the average speed of the film in a movie camera. Sound vibrations were recorded by changing the width of the writing stroke (phonogram of variable width).
October 12, 1923 the first sound film, voiced in a similar way, was shown in the hall of the Palace Theater in Copenhagen. Engineers issued several licenses for the use of their System Petersen and Paulson (System Petersen og Poulsen) to European, and then to American companies that were involved in the production of films.
After that, the company began to produce related equipment: condenser microphones, oscilloscopes, playback amplifiers, and so on. Some movie cameras and equipment for film projectors, then developed by Danish engineers, remained in use until 1968.
Gramophone and personal audio revolution
During World War II, the company (in secret) was engaged in improving the technology of recording and reproducing sound from records. The new cutter has become a true mini-revolution: it helped expand the recording frequency range from 5 to 14 kHz. By the end of 1945, the Danish record company Tono had already “cut” the recordings on the new equipment. This was made possible by the work of one of the company's engineers, Holger Christian Arenstein. In 1946, the company changed its name to Fonofilm Industri A / S.
However, there was another problem - there was not yet a sound pickup that could reproduce the sound in the quality in which it was recorded by the cutting head. Fonofilm engineers dealt with this task.
The world's first moving-coil pickup (MC-type, model AB) was released by the company in 1948.
The principle invented by the company was later used in the mass production of mono and (later) stereo pickup heads for vinyl playback. Production of AV-like models lasted for more than 50 years, largely due to the interest of music lovers and collectors who restore the players of those years.
Just a few years later, the name that we know now sounded for the first time - the “daughter” of Fonofilm Industri A / S, Ortofon A / S, was created. The word Ortofon is a combination of two Greek words: orto (translated as “pure” or “correct”) and fon (“sound”).
Mr spu
In 1957, the company released stereo heads and began to develop a stereo pickup SPU (stereo pick-up). Mass production began in 1959. Then the target audience of the development was professional sound engineers, and the pickups ordered mainly radio companies.
SPU was developed by engineer Robert Gudmandsen (Robert Gudmandsen), later became known as " Mr. SPU ". He formulated the principles of development, which are still used in the company in the manufacture of cartridges: low impedance and coils with a minimum number of turns. Gudmandsen joined the company in 1941, worked there for 50 years, and in his free time he often tested his products at home — which, according to company representatives, was very pleased with his neighbors and homeworkers.
Over its history, Ortofon has developed and launched hundreds of new cartridge models, developed new technologies, and even opened a branch in Japan. But many traditional practices used in the company so far.
Photo Guy Sie / CC BY-ND
Some more interesting facts.
- The main value of the company - the accuracy and quality of sound reproduction. For example, in 2016, Ortofon released the “ Test Plate ”: it collected test signals that help verify the settings and quality settings of a home speaker system: frequency response, pickup head quality, etc.
- Modern SPUs can be distinguished from vintage ones by a plastic plate on the bottom of the pickup: in early samples it is gray, in newer ones it is black. In addition, the old pickups are signed in silver letters on a black background, modern ones - in black letters on a silver or gold background. But in terms of weight, they are almost the same.
- Now Ortofon is actively cooperating with scientific and research organizations, for example, with the Danish Technical University, the Danish Institute of Technology, the Technical University of Chalmers, and others. By the way, following the results of the development of manufacturing technology for modern cartridges (in particular, solving the problem of mass production of microcomponents) Scientists from the Danish Technical University have published a number of scientific papers .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/370925/
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