Let’s be clear about this. Ortofon’s budget-priced OM5 phono cartridges are so popular they don’t need divine intervention to sell in eye-watering numbers.

Take any budget turntable and its likely to come bundled with an OM5. And why not? For a handful of dollars, audio neophytes get a nicely built cartridge that punches way above its price point. But importantly, if an OM5 owner destroys the stylus, no sweat. It’s user replaceable and moreover, affordable.

Now Ortofon has taken a good thing and made it better with the addition of two OM5 models to the OM range.

The series now includes the elliptical Super OM 5E and the spherical OM 5S. The letter S denotes a cartridge with a spherical stylus, a feature bound to raise audiophile eyebrows in disapproval.

We don’t know why. After all, Ortofon’s most famous cartridge, the SPU started its audio journey with a spherical stylus. So did the wonderful Denon DL103.

What both of these lovely cartridges gave up to later versions fitted with elliptical styli was a measure of detail, but not musicality.

Ortofon’s thinking with the OM5S is as obvious as the nose on your face once you take in its irresistible price of $59.

This price tag signals Ortofon is targeting the newbie market, folk who need a durable cartridge with much better sound than most cheap and cheerful DJ moving magnets.

The point is, the OM5 styli are interchangeable. So the upgrade path to say, the new Super OM5E is a no-brainer.

Speaking of which, the Super OM5E is a hot-rodded OM5 offering a broader frequency range, better tracking, superior separation and more detailed sound than the ubiquitous standard OM5. RRP price is accessible at $129.

Both new OM cartridges are available now.

Ommmm indeed.

For more information, visit Ortofon.