- The first-ever monoblock moving-coil turntable cartridge “X-quisite VORO” by Swiss HiFiction AG highlights a spectacular single-piece ceramic web-capsule developed and serially produced by Steinbach AG using Lithoz LCM technology.
- The iF Design Award 2025 jury recognised the ceramic web capsule’s spectacular design and innovative material choice in combination with the cartridge’s revolutionary technical monoblock layout.
- The zirconia web capsule is based on a Voronoi diagram and ensures the best possible resonance behavior, combining maximum rigidity with minimal sensitivity to airborne sound.
13th August, Vienna, Austria. The “X-quisite VORO”, the world’s first monoblock moving-coil (MC) cartridge, encapsuled by a fully 3D-printed single-piece ceramic Voronoi-web housing, recently won the prestigious iF Design 2025 Award thanks to its spectacular design and innovative material choice. This milestone in high-end audio technology was made possible by applying Lithoz’s ultra-precise LCM (Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing) technology. The high-end VORO cartridge is the top-of-the-line product of Swiss HiFiction AG under their brand X-quisite. Germany-based ceramic 3D printing specialists Steinbach AG manufactured its Voronoi web-shaped zirconia capsule, that comes as a support-free, single-piece item. VORO has created a unique landmark application at the intersection of audio precision, design innovation and advanced ceramic additive manufacturing.
At the heart of this award-winning innovation lies a highly complex, Voronoi-shaped 3D-printed ceramic housing encasing the innovative monoblock MC cartridge. This housing is engineered to meet stringent mechanical and acoustic specifications while also serving as a key aesthetic element in the design of this high-end part. Following HiFiction AG’s ambitious vision for the housing to reach perfection in resonance behavior and lightweight construction whilst providing an exceptional aesthetic experience, Steinbach AG manufactured the skeletonised, nature-inspired single-piece zirconia housing that sits completely contact-free above the needle and comes without any joints or assembly.
Relying on their strong expertise with LCM-based ceramic 3D printing, Steinbach AG could perfectly convert this vision into the best possible resonance behavior, combining maximum rigidity with minimal sensitivity to airborne sound, strongly supporting the entire monoblock cartridge’s overall vision of eliminating the acoustic leaks arising between attachment points by uniting needle carrier and coil body.
HiFiction AG’s stringent requirements soon ruled out conventional manufacturing methods. Moreover, during the development phase metals and plastics failed to meet the envisioned sweet spot between design, weight and sound behavior. Steinbach AG, with many years of ceramic AM expertise and several Lithoz LCM printers in operation, recommended zirconia as the material of choice to meet those requirements best.
Steinbach AG manufactured the Voronoi-type lattice structure housing in one piece with no support structures or post-processing at all – a feat only made possible by Lithoz’s proprietary LCM process, which provides resolution and precision needed to realise the design without compromise. Due to the intricacy of nature-inspired design, including cantilevered features and hard-to-reach internal surfaces, manual finishing was not an option. Consequently, the ceramic component was designed for precise sintering, with the geometry defined to ensure stress-free production without the need for support structures. With external dimensions of 17.70 x 21.90 x 11.45 mm, the component highlights wall thicknesses of less than 1 mm and tolerances within ± 50 µm, hence meeting the extreme quality requirements of high-end audio engineering.
Each component was produced with a layer thickness of 25 µm with 15 parts per build platform on average, which enabled economically viable small batch serial production of around 100 units. The resulting component is not only a significant technological achievement, but also a functional work of art. The HiFiction X-quisite VORO cartridge was recognised with the prestigious iF Design Award 2025, impressing jurors with its material innovation, structural precision and uncompromising sound quality – all of which are underpinned by Lithoz ceramic 3D printing technology.
About Steinbach: Steinbach offers prototyping in series quality and series production for a wide range of applications and industries, including medical technology, high-temperature applications, the electrical industry, the automotive industry, and the aerospace industry. The special properties of ceramics are particularly necessary in demanding environments. Lithoz’s proven LCM technology enables the production of the finest components in impressive quality, which are then successfully deployed.
Contact: www.steinbach-ag.de
About HiFiction AG: HiFiction AG is a manufacturer based in Turbenthal, in the Tösstal valley. It is a leader in the development and production of precision and micromechanical products for high-quality music reproduction. With ten employees, it produces turntables, tonearms, cartridges and amplifiers for customers all over the world.
Contact: Ramona Huber, [email protected], 044 533 88 99
Lithoz Contact: Clara Weissflog +43 660 9128831 / [email protected]
