Ortofon Concorde MK2 Scratch Twin Cartridge Review (2026)

Who this twin pack is for

This is built for a working or practicing DJ who runs two turntables and needs matching cartridges on both decks for scratching, back-cueing and beat juggling. According to Ortofon, the Concorde MKII Scratch is intended specifically for scratch and back-cueing disciplines, which sets it apart from cartridges tuned for smooth, accurate home listening. Buying the twin pack rather than a single cartridge makes sense for anyone setting up a pair of matched decks from scratch, since it puts identical cartridges on both turntables so they track and sound the same, rather than mixing a new cartridge with an older or different model on the second deck and hearing an inconsistent response between the two.

What makes it suited to scratching

Ortofon specifies a spherical diamond stylus with an 18 micron tip radius on this cartridge, a shape that DJs generally prefer over elliptical or fine line tips because it preserves more of the groove during the back and forth motion of scratching and back-cueing, where a narrower tip can wear grooves down faster. Output voltage is rated at 10 millivolts, notably higher than a typical home listening cartridge, which helps drive DJ mixers with plenty of signal level even through heavy use. The recommended tracking force sits in a 3 to 5 gram range with 4 grams suggested as the standard setting, higher than a home cartridge, which helps the stylus stay planted in the groove during aggressive handling.

What comes in the box and mounting

The twin pack includes two Concorde MKII Scratch cartridges with their styli already installed at the factory, packed together in a flight case for transport between gigs, according to Ortofon. The Concorde design integrates the cartridge body and headshell into one piece that fits directly onto a tonearm with a universal headshell socket, which speeds up mounting compared with aligning a separate cartridge and headshell by hand, a real advantage when setting up two decks before a set. Because alignment is built into the Concorde shape itself, there is less fiddling with overhang and azimuth than a standard bolt-on cartridge would require.

Where it fits against other DJ and home cartridges

Within Ortofon's own DJ lineup, the Concorde MK2 Mix Twin is tuned more for beatmatching and general mixing rather than heavy scratching, while the Concorde Scratch Kit pairs a single Scratch cartridge with an extra stylus rather than a second full cartridge. Against a home listening cartridge like an Audio-Technica AT-VM95E, this Ortofon trades detail and frequency extension for tracking toughness and output level, since its 20 to 18,000 Hz range is narrower than what a hi-fi cartridge targets. Choosing between these comes down entirely to intended use, a scratch DJ has little reason to consider a home cartridge and vice versa.

Bottom line

As the top ranked pick in its category with a score of 9.4 out of 10, this twin pack delivers exactly what a scratch DJ needs, matched cartridges, a tough spherical stylus and high output, in one convenient case. Choose it if you are setting up or maintaining a pair of scratch-ready turntables and want cartridges built to survive aggressive handling. Skip it if you want a cartridge for detailed home listening, since the scratch-focused voicing and narrower frequency range trade away the accuracy a hi-fi cartridge is designed to deliver.

Frequently asked questions