TITANIC AUDIO MODEL A MC CARTRIDGE REVIEW

New Technology

It’s rare to see a new cartridge brand appearing in the HiFi Industry more so when it’s a UK company. Now, that’s something really something unique. Obviously, it’s a no-brainer: we want to review their products.

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Titanic Audio is currently manufacturing three MC cartridge models: the Model A ( which we are reviewing) at £1750, the Model S at £3500, and the Model G at £8500. The name obviously gives a clue to their manufacturing location. So it was no surprise when the UK distributor confirmed the manufacturing location was Northern Ireland.

The first in their cartridge range, this versatile and dynamic design makes it a perfect entry point to the prestigious Titanic Audio brand. With a monocoque chassis design, the CNC machined acrylic body is mounted to a carbon fiber frame which offers exceptional dampening and rigidity. So you can see straight away that these guys are serious. They spent several years designing and eventually manufacturing these unique cartridges.

Robust Technical Features

The first thing is the CNC machined acrylic body,  Each body is carefully machined to extremely high tolerances to ensure precise weight distribution and maximum rigidity. This is something Titanic Audio are adamant is an extremely important aspect of their cartridge design. The lightweight body is built around a carbon fiber monocoque frame to offer incredible dampening and structural support.

Next are the 0.024 OFC coils in the Titanic Audio Model A.  The coils are wound using Titan Audio’s exceptionally pure copper which is provided exclusively for their cartridges.

Recommended tracking force is 1.8 grams although you can play from about 1.7-2 grams. Load impedance is a minimum of 100 ohms although I got the best results in my system at 470. It’s always worth trying everything between 100 and 1K to figure out what works best for you.  The weight is 6.1 grams which is fairly light and should work in a variety of tonearms. I tried it with SME, Pro-Ject, and Origin Live. It worked perfectly in all of them.

The cantilever is aluminum and the stylus is a conical jointed diamond stylus.  I did enquire as to why they were using these rather than more exotic materials and stylus profiles. The answer was that “it tracks better and is more musical”.

A spokesman for Titanic Audio also told me “Musicality is at the heart of all our models, we focused on creating a product that not only produces high accuracy but more importantly an incredible musical experience which can be enjoyed for hours on end without fatigue. We all strive for life-like reproduction of music but that shouldn’t be at the expense of enjoyment.”

Sound Quality

It’s all very well talking about technological innovation but the proof of the pudding is in the listening.

So what does it sound like? Well, pretty much what it says on the tin. It’s exceptionally musical yet with excellent detail retrieval. The bass extends but it’s very tight and controlled. However, the most impressive aspect is what Titanic Audio has claimed, and that’s its tracking ability. MC cartridges are often criticized for poor tracking but this cartridge is rock solid. 

Titanic Audio is pitching this cartridge against some serious opposition like Ortofon Audio Technica, Lyra, and Hana just to name a few. However, the new kid in town has nothing to worry about this is one of the best-sounding musical cartridges I have ever come across. The fact that the Model A is so good really makes me want to hear the two bigger brothers.

Conclusion

I am not sure what has impressed me more, the fact that a new cartridge manufacturer has appeared especially one from the UK, or that they have managed to make one of the most musical and best tracking cartridges that I have ever heard. That’s high praise indeed.

Titanic Audio has not only produced one of the coolest designed cartridges on the market, the ship’s prow is a masterpiece but this is also a stunning cartridge sonically. It’s an incredible achievement from a new UK cartridge manufacturer.