Danish brand Gryphon Audio Designs has made a striking debut in the world of turntable cartridges with the launch of its very first model — the Black Diamond DLC.
Marking a significant milestone in the company’s 40-year legacy, the Black Diamond DLC represents Gryphon’s first cartridge released under its own name. Based on the highly acclaimed Ortofon MC Diamond, this new creation doesn’t merely borrow from an industry benchmark — it reimagines it, with a series of technical and material upgrades that aim to redefine what’s possible in analog playback.
At its core, the Black Diamond DLC retains the extraordinary fundamentals of the Ortofon MC Diamond: a diamond cantilever, an Ortofon Replicant 100 stylus, and a precision-crafted titanium body made using advanced Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology. These elements have already earned the MC Diamond a reputation as one of the most refined and technically advanced cartridges available today. But Gryphon saw room for evolution — and innovation.
What sets the Black Diamond DLC apart, both visually and sonically, is Gryphon’s proprietary diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating, developed in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute. The result is a deep, lustrous black finish — more than just aesthetic — that dramatically improves the cartridge’s acoustic performance. Thanks to this DLC-TR SLM-treated titanium, the speed of sound transmission through the material has been doubled from 9,000 to 18,000 meters per second. According to Gryphon, this leap translates directly into unprecedented levels of clarity, resolution, and musical realism.
The innovations go well beyond the surface. Internally, the traditional copper coil wire has been replaced with gold-plated copper, offering enhanced conductivity and greater long-term durability. The coil architecture itself has been redesigned into a new six-layer configuration, with 2 x 84 turns per channel, engineered to optimize signal integrity and fidelity.
Further upgrades include newly developed front and rear rubber bearings, formulated from a bespoke compound to offer superior mechanical stability, longevity, and resistance to wear. This contributes to smoother performance and extended operational life — all with minimal need for maintenance.
With these enhancements, Gryphon’s Black Diamond DLC positions itself not just as a refinement of an existing masterpiece, but as a cartridge capable of pushing the envelope of analog audio performance.
Full technical specifications, pricing, and availability details for the Black Diamond DLC will be revealed soon.
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When in March considering an upgrade from Ortofon MC Diamond which was rumoured to be due for replacement by the now launched Vertex, I reviewed the option of the Gryphon Diamond Black DLC and noted that it built considerably on the upgrades that had made a noticeable difference when moving from the MC Anna Diamond to the MC Diamond. Improved suspension was now further upgraded enhanced front and rear. Upgraded coil design and materials and of course the DLC. Having heard Michael Fermer’s review and demonstration noting his ownership of an MC Diamond I took the plunge. I can only say this was the upgrade Origin Live Voyager-Renown, Whest MC Ref 8, D’Agostino M400 and Marten Coltranes were waiting for. Good as they sounded with the MC Diamond the Gryphon / Ortofon enhancements in the Gryphon Black Diamond DLC take this to another level that is a significantly greater enhancement than the Anna to MC had been. Everyone who has heard this in my system including several industry development experts, have agreed with me that whilst this is clearly not a cheap cartridge, when you consider the cost per hour over its lifecycle and that this is your leisure time and should be worth more to you than your work time or a fraction of a concert ticket cost, then the performance available in the right system, this is great value in smiles / £ / hour.