Why choose the SPU Royal N moving coil cartridge
The SPU Royal N is a moving coil cartridge from Ortofon's SPU Royal line, built for buyers who want the SPU Royal generator and stylus in a mount that fits standard headshells rather than the integrated-headshell SPU body. Ortofon launched the SPU Royal GM and SPU Royal N together in 1998 to mark the brand's 80th anniversary, and the SPU Royal N carries the same sound reproduction properties as the SPU Royal GM inside a half-inch mount housing. That mounting choice is the reason a buyer picks the N over the GM: it opens up compatibility with tonearms that don't accept a fixed SPU headshell, without changing the generator, stylus, or damping system underneath.
What sets the SPU Royal N apart from the SPU Royal GM?
The SPU Royal N is distinct from the SPU Royal GM in mount and mass, not in the sound-generating parts each cartridge shares. Where the SPU Royal GM uses Ortofon's integrated headshell, designed to plug directly into classic detachable-headshell tonearms, the SPU Royal N adds a half-inch adaptor so the same generator and stylus assembly can sit in a standard headshell instead. This also drops the cartridge's weight considerably: the N model weighs 13 g against the GM's 30 g, which matters directly for tonearm mass matching, covered below.
Which tonearms and headshells does it fit?
This cartridge is a half-inch mount design, connecting through four individual pins wired to the tonearm's headshell leads and secured with two screws spaced half an inch apart, the fitting used by most modern headshells. That sets it apart from the bayonet-style integrated headshell built into the SPU Royal GM and other classic SPU models, which is designed for tonearms such as the SME 3009 and 3012 that accept a detachable SPU headshell directly. Choosing the half-inch format means the cartridge works with a wider range of tonearms, including any arm fitted with a standard headshell, rather than being limited to arms built around the SPU's own bayonet fitting.
How do you match it to a tonearm?
The SPU Royal N's dynamic lateral compliance is 8 µm/mN, which places it in the very low compliance band that Ortofon defines as 5 to 10 µm/mN, and cartridges in this range pair best with moderate mass tonearms rather than low mass ones. A moderate mass tonearm has an effective mass between 11 and 25 g, examples being the SME IV, V and VI, the Triplanar and the Graham, and combining one of these with this compliance keeps the cartridge-tonearm system within its intended working range. This match is checked with the resonance frequency formula F = 1000 ÷ (2π√(M×C)), where M is the combined mass of the cartridge, headshell and screws, and the tonearm's effective mass, and C is the cartridge's compliance figure. A result between 7 and 12 Hz is optimal, with 10 Hz recommended, so a buyer needs to add the cartridge's own 13 g to their headshell and tonearm's effective mass before running the calculation, since a result outside 6.5 to 14 Hz signals a mismatch that may affect tracking.
What load does its phono stage need to present?
The SPU Royal N's output is 0.2 mV at 1 kHz, 5 cm/sec, a low signal level that reflects its low internal DC resistance of 7 ohm, and this combination is typical of a moving coil design that depends on a step-up transformer or an active moving coil phono stage rather than a standard moving magnet input. Ortofon specifies a recommended load impedance of 100 ohm, so the transformer or phono stage this cartridge feeds into should present a matching input impedance to keep the frequency response within its stated 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +1.5/-0 dB window.
Who is the SPU Royal N built for?
The SPU Royal N is best suited to listeners whose systems are already built around vintage valve equipment and horn or reflex loudspeakers, the setups where the SPU family has kept a following since its 1958 introduction. Ortofon has kept the visual design and the construction of the magnetic circuit consistent across the SPU range while updating housing materials, diamond profiles and damping over time, so a buyer moving to this cartridge from an earlier SPU is stepping into refinements built on a design Ortofon has deliberately left largely unchanged. It suits an owner who wants that heritage sound and is prepared to run it through a step-up transformer or MC phono stage, rather than someone looking for a plug-and-play moving magnet replacement.
How does its generator shape sound reproduction?
The generator in the SPU Royal N is built around Electrum coils, a gold and silver alloy, in place of the copper coils found elsewhere in the SPU range, and this alloy transmits the movement of the cartridge's armature with less colouration than standard coil wire. Its damping system is also modified so that vibrations within the cartridge body are reduced, which lets the recommended tracking force sit at 3.0 g, lower than the 4.0 g recommended for most other SPU models, and this lower required VTF is what Ortofon points to as delivering a higher level of linearity from the generator.
What stylus and wiring does it use?
The stylus fitted to the SPU Royal N is a nude Ortofon Replicant 100, with a tip radius of r/R 5/100 µm, and mounting the diamond nude rather than bonded to a metal shank cuts the moving mass at the stylus tip. A lighter moving mass lets the stylus follow fine, high-frequency groove modulations with less inertia, which is the mechanical basis for the open, detailed tracking Ortofon associates with the Replicant 100 profile. The coil itself is wound with goldplated silver wire, and Ortofon also specifies high purity 6-nines copper wiring within the cartridge for signal transmission, aimed at preserving fine microdynamic detail on its way from the coils to the output pins.
How does the SPU Royal N compare with other cartridges in Ortofon's SPU range?
The SPU Royal N is positioned within Ortofon's SPU range primarily by its mount, output level and stylus profile, rather than by a simple hierarchy of quality. A buyer with a classic detachable-headshell tonearm such as an SME 3009 or 3012 is better served by the SPU Royal GM, which uses the SPU's own integrated headshell instead of the half-inch adaptor. Newcomers to the SPU format who want a simpler entry point can look at the SPU #1 S or #1 E, which use spherical or elliptical styli rather than the Replicant 100 and are pitched as all-rounders for stereo playback. Buyers who want higher output to ease gain requirements on their phono stage have the SPU Synergy G, at 0.5 mV and wound with high purity copper (OFC) coil wire, or the SPU Meister Silver G MkII, at 0.3 mV and wound with 6-nines silver wire, both above the SPU Royal N's 0.2 mV output. Those drawn to a wood-bodied cartridge for its housing material and tone can compare the SPU Wood A, built on a Japanese Beech housing rather than the ground wood and resin composite of the SPU Royal N. Within this range, the SPU Royal N is the choice for a buyer who wants the SPU Royal generator, the Replicant 100 stylus, and mounting flexibility beyond the SPU's own bayonet fitting, on a system built around a moving coil step-up stage and a moderate mass tonearm.
