Oracle Audio Corinth Reference Phono Cartridge

The Oracle Audio Corinth Reference is the top of Oracle's cartridge line: a low-output moving coil with a vented zebrawood body and a square ruby jewel coil plate, designed for Oracle by Benz Micro Switzerland. It produces 0.34 mV, and Oracle rates its frequency response from 10 Hz to 50 kHz within ±1 dB, against 20 Hz to 20 kHz for the Corinth and Thalia.

Oracle has built turntables in Canada since 1979, and it calls the Corinth Reference a low output, high precision moving coil. It is the only Oracle cartridge in zebrawood, the only one with a ruby coil plate, and at 16.4 grams the heaviest of the three.

"The Corinth Reference is quick and transparent and it is the very best low output phono cartridge available!"

Key Features of the Oracle Audio Corinth Reference

• Designed in Switzerland: Oracle credits Benz Micro Switzerland with the design
• Vented Zebrawood Body: Machined from zebrawood and vented, the only zebrawood body in Oracle's line
• Square Ruby Jewel Coil Plate: Used only on the Corinth Reference in Oracle's line, in place of the pure iron cross on the Corinth and Thalia
• 10 Hz to 50 kHz Response: Rated within ±1 dB, against 20 Hz to 20 kHz for Oracle's other two cartridges
• Low Output, 0.34 mV: Measured at 3.54 cm/s, with a 38 ohm internal impedance
• 0.28 mm Solid Boron Cantilever: A solid boron rod, the same specification as the Corinth and Thalia
• Nude Line-Contact Diamond: Mirror polished, with a 3 x 60 µm tip radius
• Load From 500 Ohms: Oracle recommends anywhere from 500 to 47,000 ohms
• 16.4 Grams: For medium to high mass tonearms, at 1.8 to 2.2 grams of tracking force
• Two-Year Warranty: Oracle covers manufacturing defects for two years

What Does the Corinth Reference Add Over the Corinth?

A new body and a new generator. The Corinth Reference swaps the Corinth's ebony for vented, machined zebrawood and its pure iron cross coil for a square ruby jewel plate. Output moves from 0.4 mV to 0.34 mV, the rated response widens to 10 Hz to 50 kHz, and weight rises from 9.6 to 16.4 grams.

What stays the same is the contact with the record. All three Oracle cartridges, the Thalia included, use a 0.28 mm solid boron cantilever and a nude, mirror-polished line-contact diamond with a 3 x 60 µm tip radius. All three also share a 20 degree vertical tracking angle, a 15 µm/mN dynamic compliance, channel balance better than 0.5 dB and channel separation better than 35 dB at 1 kHz.

What Gain Does the Corinth Reference Need?

High gain, from a moving coil stage whose input sensitivity reaches 0.34 mV. At 0.34 mV with a 38 ohm internal impedance, the Corinth Reference is the lowest-output cartridge Oracle makes, and Oracle recommends a load anywhere from 500 to 47,000 ohms.

Check that figure before you choose a phono stage. Oracle's own PH200 MkIII manual lists a 0.35 mV input sensitivity and says that model is not designed for cartridges below it, which puts the Corinth Reference just under the line.

Which Tonearms Suit the Corinth Reference?

Medium to high mass arms that can balance a heavy cartridge. The Corinth Reference weighs 16.4 grams against 9.6 for the Corinth and Thalia. Oracle recommends 1.8 to 2.2 grams of tracking force, with 1.8 to 2.0 grams as the optimum, and at a 2 gram tracking force it tracks 80 µm at 315 Hz.

A heavier cartridge takes more counterweight, so confirm your arm's range before you order. Oracle gives a 20 degree vertical tracking angle, an optimum working temperature of 23°C (73°F) and a break-in period of 40 hours.

Who Makes the Corinth Reference?

Benz Micro, in Switzerland. Oracle credits Benz Micro Switzerland with the design of all three of its cartridges, and says the Corinth and Thalia were designed and voiced for Oracle by Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro. Oracle describes the Corinth Reference itself as quick and transparent.

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Oracle Audio Corinth Reference Specifications