Ortofon

Ortofon's history dates back to 1918, when two Danish engineers, Axel Petersen (1887-1971) and Arnold Poulsen (1889-1952), began their experiments in synchronizing sound with images on film. On October 9 of that year they founded the Electric Phono Film studio. Their goal was to explore the possibility of high-quality recording and develop one of the world's first synchronized video and audio systems.

On October 12, 1923, the first film with a separately recorded sound track was shown at the Palace Theater in Copenhagen. It was the first true sound film recorded using the "variable area" method. For the first time, the name of the Petersen and Poulsen System appeared on film. Later this name became known throughout the world.

The fact that improvements could be noticed without prior advertising or warning was confirmed at the Danish premiere in 1944. The press wrote that the film was boring, but the soundtrack was surprisingly good. For this film, Electrical Fono Film A/S used a new in-house dynamic compressor for the first time.

In addition, Danish inventors provided the recording industry with the necessary equipment. Amplifiers and a new cutting head system for the gramophone industry were developed in secrecy during World War II. The cutting head was revolutionary because the vibration detection level was increased from 5 kHz to 14 kHz. By the end of 1945, the Danish record company Tono was able to cut records using new equipment.

However, no existing pickup system could reproduce the high quality sound that this cutting head provided. Thus, in 1948, Ortofon mono pickups and tonearms were developed, which were then patented in many countries and a few years later became world famous.

Since then, the company's engineers have designed and manufactured more than 300 different types of pickups. Today, Ortofon is one of the world leaders in the production of pickups, both for use in hi-fi equipment and for professional equipment/DJs. This became possible thanks to the company's technological know-how. Acoustics, materials technology and electronics are the company's core competencies and form the basis for the technical excellence of its products. The pickups are sold worldwide through a distribution network of 60 importers, as well as sales subsidiaries in the USA and Japan.