High End Vienna Exciting Product Debuts

full coverage coming ASAP but for now...

At High end Vienna, Ortofon, Audio-Technica and TechDAS introduced new products sure to be of great interest to all Tracking Angle readers, even if they are unaffordable.

There are brand new "flagship" cartridges from A-T and Ortofon. At a well attended press conference Ortofon introduced the new Vertex MC cartridge featuring a diamond cantilever and a new diamond stylus that replaces the Replicant and is not bonded to the cantilever as in previous MCs. Instead its shank is inserted into a square hole in the diamond cantilever. All new rubber compounds for the suspension and of course a Selective Laser Melt body are the Vertex's key features. Price is $15K.

Audio Technica introduced the MCD1 its second to feature a lab grown one piece diamond cantilever/stylus similar to the one found in the limited edition AT-MC2022. The new one featuring a Shibata stylus is an all new cartridge design and will not be limited edition like the MC2022, which quickly sold out at its "bargain" price of I can't exactly remember and must get to the show now so won't bother to look up the price but the new one will cost $11,000.

TechDAS introduced in the Marten Audio room a new Air Force Model 20 turntable. It was making beautiful music playing through the top of the new Dexter line of Marten Audio speakers.

Much more coverage coming up but now I must return to the show. The new venue BTW is working out extremely well and most people I spoke with are happy to be in Vienna this year. Kudos to the High End Society for pulling this off so smoothly!

Comments

2026-06-05 03:42:05 AM

PeterPani wrote:

I will visit on Saturday
- 2026-06-05 12:34:04 PM
  
  Michael Fremer wrote:
  
  hope to see you there
  - 2026-06-06 01:14:32 PM
    
    PeterPani wrote:
    
    I did not expect the High End to be soo big. Too big for one afternoon. I looked around, but did not see you. So, sorry, next time. I and my musicfriend spent a very long time with the nice Italian people of Hemiolia, talking about music, mono and stereo. We ended up, buying tapes from them (Thelenious Monk) and from Zavalinka Records (Sinatra). And we listened to the new Deep Purple tape by Revox/Horch, which delivered a wonderful steady hardrock flow (sadly over headphones only). We listened to some highly regarded speaker systems, too. But the sources were mostly digital - and the sound was accordingly underwhelming, regardless of the pricetags on the speakers. But I was impressed by the effort that went into the acoustical treatments of the listening rooms. The selling area for vinyl on the 1st level must become bigger next year, when the show stays in Vienna.
    - 2026-06-07 01:10:45 AM
      
      Willie Luncheonette wrote:
      
      What tape did you buy by Monk, if I may ask. And what kind of tape was it? I wrote an article on Monk covering much of his discography for Tracking Angle a while back. He is my all time favorite jazz musician.
      - 2026-06-07 02:32:48 AM
        
        PeterPani wrote:
        
        Friend of mine bought Brilliant Corners from Hemiolia. I didn’t, because I got it from TapeProject years ago. We will have fun time to compare these two different editions.
        
        2026-06-07 03:12:31 AM
        
        Willie Luncheonette wrote:
        
        That is a very great album, his first really breakthrough LP where Monk was let loose, so to speak, from his previous two Riverside albums of Duke Ellington songs and then standards. Pannonica and I Surrender, Dear are sublime.
2026-06-06 07:35:40 PM

Robin Wyatt wrote:

Ask a question for me. The new AT and Ortofon “diamond” one piece stylus cantilever, is the whole single piece lab grown or just the cantilever and the stylus is a real diamond? I assume one piece implies it’s all lab grown and precision cut??
2026-06-09 02:53:33 PM

Steve wrote:

The Ortofon Verismo has both a diamond cantilever and a diamond stylus and a SLM body and retails for $7,300. I own one and it is an amazing cartridge in all respects (at least within my system). It would be interesting to hear what a revised stylus and a new suspension gets you for $7,700 additional dollars over the Verismo. Michael, maybe a "shootout" between the two when the Vertex is available?