Oracle Audio Corinth Phono Cartridge

The Oracle Audio Corinth is a low-output moving coil cartridge that Oracle tuned for higher-end phono stages, designed and voiced for Oracle by Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro in Switzerland. It produces 0.4 mV from a 12 ohm pure iron cross coil, with a nude line-contact diamond on a 0.28 mm solid boron cantilever in a vented, machined ebony body.

The Corinth is the low-output twin of the Thalia: the same body, cantilever, stylus and 9.6 gram weight, with a generator built for low output. Oracle lists it above the Thalia in its cartridge line, and it uses the same cantilever and stylus as the Corinth Reference at the top.

"The Thalia is a high-output moving-coil cartridge while the Corinth is a low-output moving-coil cartridge tuned for higher-end phono stages. They are known for their warmth, precision and their musicality."

Key Features of the Oracle Audio Corinth

• Designed and Voiced in Switzerland: Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro designed and voiced the Corinth for Oracle
• Low Output, 0.4 mV: Measured at 3.54 cm/s from a pure iron cross coil with a 12 ohm internal impedance
• Tuned for Higher-End Phono Stages: Oracle's own description of the Corinth against the high-output Thalia
• Vented Ebony Body: Machined from ebony wood and vented
• 0.28 mm Solid Boron Cantilever: The same solid boron rod Oracle uses on the Corinth Reference
• Nude Line-Contact Diamond: Mirror polished, with a 3 x 60 µm tip radius
• Load From 100 Ohms: Oracle recommends anywhere from 100 to 47,000 ohms
• Channel Separation Better Than 35 dB: At 1 kHz, with channel balance better than 0.5 dB and a 20 Hz to 20 kHz response within ±1 dB
• Built for Medium to High Mass Tonearms: 15 µm/mN dynamic compliance and 1.7 to 2.0 grams of tracking force
• Two-Year Warranty: Oracle covers manufacturing defects for two years

Who Makes the Oracle Corinth?

Benz Micro, in Switzerland. Oracle says the Corinth and Thalia were designed and voiced for Oracle by Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro, and Oracle credits Benz Micro Switzerland with the design of all three of its cartridges. Oracle, which has built turntables in Canada since 1979, calls the Corinth a low output, high precision moving coil.

What Gain Does the Corinth Need?

A moving coil input with plenty of it. The Corinth produces 0.4 mV at 3.54 cm/s, roughly a sixth of the 2.5 mV from the Thalia, with a 12 ohm internal impedance. Output, impedance and recommended load are where the two part ways, and the output is why Oracle describes the Corinth as tuned for higher-end phono stages.

Oracle's own phono stage manuals show where it lands. The manual for the PH100 MkIII suggests its 62 dB setting for moving coils under 1.0 mV. The manual for the PH200 MkIII suggests its optional 73 dB setting, reached by fitting a 2 ohm resistor on an internal header, for moving coils between 0.35 and 0.5 mV, which covers the Corinth. Oracle recommends a load anywhere from 100 to 47,000 ohms, and both phono stages offer moving coil load settings starting at 100 ohms.

What Is the Corinth Made Of?

Ebony, boron and diamond. The body is vented, machined ebony wood; the cantilever is a solid boron rod 0.28 mm in diameter; and the stylus is a nude line-contact diamond, mirror polished, with a 3 x 60 µm tip radius. The generator is a pure iron cross, and the cartridge weighs 9.6 grams.

The Corinth Reference keeps the same cantilever and stylus and changes the rest: a zebrawood body in place of ebony and a square ruby jewel coil plate in place of the pure iron cross.

Which Tonearms Suit the Corinth?

Medium to high mass arms. Oracle rates the Corinth's dynamic compliance at 15 µm/mN and recommends 1.7 to 2.0 grams of tracking force, with 1.7 to 1.8 grams as the optimum. At a 2 gram tracking force it tracks 80 µm at 315 Hz, and the cartridge weighs 9.6 grams.

Set the vertical tracking angle to 20 degrees. Oracle gives an optimum working temperature of 23°C (73°F) and a break-in period of 40 hours, and rates the frequency response at 20 Hz to 20 kHz within ±1 dB.

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Oracle Audio Corinth Specifications