Blue ORTOFON MC Cadenza Moving Coil Cartridge

[Yardbird]

Hi SNAers,

 

Just wanted to get a feel for these carts? ATM they have some good deals on them and wondering whether I pull the trigger on it. I think around $1600?

Online reviews seem to be reasonably good and mentions a great soundstage. I currently have the Rega Ania which is my first MC cart which I'm pretty happy with regardless but the deals ATM on the Ortofon is good to consider.

 

Would be on a RB700 tonearm.

Any feedback on other carts around the same money? Also, any feedback on people who have owned them and found anything worth considering as a positive or negative.

 

TIA.

Edited June 23, 2019 by Yardbird

[sjay]

I tried the black version on my Thorens 124mk2 with sme 3009, up against my tricked out Rega p9 with rb 1000 and Jubilee cart..

 

Mounted with the Credenza black, the 124 edged the Rega P9 out with some margin.

 

Only had that cart here for a day so that IS my take on them

[Hergest]

Which Cadenza though? I had a couple of Blacks and they were excellent but I'd be surprised if you could get one for anything like $1600. If you could then I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.

[Yardbird]

Blue. Sorry didn't add that in.

There's deals going on them ATM. I think the black is the same price as a bronze? 

 

It was about the detail and sound stage for the blue. Whether it's worth it or are there better carts for the $1500 ish price range.

 

I was recommended to consider the Audio Techica ART9? But the guys at the shop said no, and of course the Blue Ortofon instead. 

 

Black is out of my budget. 

[Yardbird]

Side note is the cart is unheard from my end. Don't think the shop has one set up to listen to?

[Peter-C]

Just got an email from Brian Maddern at Decibel
Ortofon are doing a “model-up” promotion.
Eg. Cadenza blue for price of red, save $800
Sounds like a good deal.

[Yardbird]

Thats the deal @Peter-C

Any good you think?

[Peter-C]

Not heard the Cadenza blue... Only the bronze and black.

[wen]

@Yardbird  have not heard the cadenza blue, but reviews are positive, i have a quintet blue, in one blog the guy was selling his quintet black, keeping his blue, said the black was to polished for his liking, the site ,positive review has a lenghty review, basic comment was that the cadenza blue was a cartridge lived with easily, going to the bronze or black gave incremental gains, value for money,?, only if you have the money to spend

[Uglu]

I still have a Kontrapunkt B which is probably the same thing repacked. It's so hard to recommend cartridges because there are lots of things at play.

It was a good cartridge, nice deep bass and not excessive treble and good sound stage. The ART 9 is a very popular cart but I've never heard it myself. Others to consider in that range may be the Benz. If the blue is at the price of the red it sounds like a good deal that might not be seen again for some time. The bronze surprises me with an aluminium cantilever and it is meant to be better but that might be a stretch over your budget. 

[Batty]

Van den Hul carts start around that price too.

[Yardbird]

9 hours ago, wen said:

@Yardbird  have not heard the cadenza blue, but reviews are positive, i have a quintet blue, in one blog the guy was selling his quintet black, keeping his blue, said the black was to polished for his liking, the site ,positive review has a lenghty review, basic comment was that the cadenza blue was a cartridge lived with easily, going to the bronze or black gave incremental gains, value for money,?, only if you have the money to spend

Cheers Wen, seems to be pretty consistent with many of the online reviews. 

Seems to be good value for what it represents against some of the other carts.

I've read that the blue seems to be the best value against what to expect with detail and stage.

 

Figure just to order and see how it is with my own ears.

Cheers. 

[Yardbird]

Cheers @Uglu

 

That's the cart that Ortofon made their name on, Kontrapunkt B?

I think it's just the newer version of this? Reading up a little last night said good things. Hard to find something negative about this cart. 

The ART9, the shop went Meh, as expected cause that whlant to sell what they have, not what they don't. It's make it easier to hear it first, but that won't happen at the shop any time fast. So, a little blind leading the blind here. 

Let's see and I'll come back at a later stage with hopefully some review on listening.

 

@Batty I'll check those carts out too. Cheers. 

[Hydrology]

Have heard the Black, in fact this will be my next cart, but I would mirror what a lot have already said, the Blue probably hits a great spot in terms of price and performance.

[Uglu]

9 hours ago, Yardbird said:

Cheers @Uglu

 

That's the cart that Ortofon made their name on, Kontrapunkt B?

I think it's just the newer version of this? Reading up a little last night said good things. Hard to find something negative about this cart. 

The ART9, the shop went Meh, as expected cause that whlant to sell what they have, not what they don't. It's make it easier to hear it first, but that won't happen at the shop any time fast. So, a little blind leading the blind here. 

Let's see and I'll come back at a later stage with hopefully some review on listening.

 

@Batty I'll check those carts out too. Cheers. 

Yes, I've been in the position when a shop trashed something I was after but they didn't sell. Just to be told a year later that -what they trashed- was the best ever and what they attempted to sell me before was bad -of course they didn't sell it any more.

 

It was the same salesman, obviously I had better memory than him or he had no shame.

Going back to the cart, I have several carts, all lesser than the Kontrapunkt and I am considering buying another cart in that level or retipp the kontrapunkt.

 

The Kontrapunkt B provided me plenty of pleasure, it is a good cartridge but I am not 100% sure I would like to have it again.

I've received today an AT OC9III which I am going to use until I make up my mind. Apparently it has a similar sound signature to the ART9, so far I can tell you that I have like it right from the beginning, I don't know after a proper break in period but it is unlikely to get worse. If in the end you buy the Cadenza blue you can't go wrong paying the price of the red, it's a serious discount and if you don't like it once the discount is gone you can probably recover most of your money selling as a low hours cart.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Uglu

[Yardbird]

Sounds like a plan Ugly. I'll order and see how the get on. 

The sales guys are a little ott, that's why I prefer the peers reviews and forums such as this. Although I haven't had anyone come back direct on this cart, I've been able to work through and decide to pull the trigger anyway.

 

Re the cart you got today, I'd love to get some feedback on it once you've broken it in. Likewise I'll come back on this with my ideas around the cart once I've secured and ordered it. And after its broken in.

 

Cheers. 

[Uglu]

On 24/06/2019 at 8:41 PM, Yardbird said:

Sounds like a plan Ugly. I'll order and see how the get on. 

The sales guys are a little ott, that's why I prefer the peers reviews and forums such as this. Although I haven't had anyone come back direct on this cart, I've been able to work through and decide to pull the trigger anyway.

 

Re the cart you got today, I'd love to get some feedback on it once you've broken it in. Likewise I'll come back on this with my ideas around the cart once I've secured and ordered it. And after its broken in.

 

Cheers. 

I am surprised nobody commented yet on the blue. I am still tempted to use that offer as I had in mind getting something better than this Audio Technica but I don't want to rush and I'll be more keen in experimenting with the Gold or Black but the discount is not enough on those to entice me and they remain too expensive considering I have other things on my mind. The AT is not fully broken in but I don't think the changes from now on would be so dramatic. It is a very good cartridge and for the money excellent value, I am not sure I really need much better but I am still open to the idea. It has loosen up more and the balance has shifted a little bit more towards the highs not in a bad way but initially the bass was more predominant and since my set up is already a bit bright this cartridge is adding a bit more on the same lines. Bottom line so far I am still happy but I wonder how the ART9 would compare. Some people think that I am getting 90% of the ART for half the money. Let me know what you think of the blue. 

Cheers

[Guest Mr Thorens]

I've heard the Red v the Quintet Bronze. Tonally similar but the Cadenza had better micro dynamics, scale and insight. The Q Bronze was also very good but the C Red stepped everything up a bit and was more resolved and had more bite. 

[Yardbird]

That's interesting Uglu. I'd be good to understand a little feedback from the AT once its broken in. I'm in the same boat with the current Ania. I figure it just broke in cause everything opened up and started to sound really quite detailed. I was enjoying this, however with a great deal on the Ortofon I jumped in. I figure I'll fit it up tomorrow and listen for different stages over 20, 30 and 50 hours and see if I can hear any developments as it breaks in.

Guess I'll have to pass on the Ania now which is a cart that I love cause it was my first MC but most likely and hopefully no need to go back to.

At this stage, no real feedback for the Blue through the forum except just now with @Mr ThorensThorens. Many of the online reviews said good things rather than bad and suggested that the blue was where it really starts stepping up. So I'm keen to hear that unfold.

Mr Thorens, thanks for the feedback. At least someone has listen to the Q so only good things from here on I hope. I'll happily pass on some of my own feedback once it's set up. I'm going to demo a Rega Aria after about 50 hours, to pair of the cart as the phono stage however the next challenge will be what PS? Any suggested PS with dip switches between 50&200 Ohms?

Cheers. 

[Uglu]

51 minutes ago, Yardbird said:

That's interesting Uglu. I'd be good to understand a little feedback from the AT once its broken in. I'm in the same boat with the current Ania. I figure it just broke in cause everything opened up and started to sound really quite detailed. I was enjoying this, however with a great deal on the Ortofon I jumped in. I figure I'll fit it up tomorrow and listen for different stages over 20, 30 and 50 hours and see if I can hear any developments as it breaks in.

Guess I'll have to pass on the Ania now which is a cart that I love cause it was my first MC but most likely and hopefully no need to go back to.

At this stage, no real feedback for the Blue through the forum except just now with @Mr ThorensThorens. Many of the online reviews said good things rather than bad and suggested that the blue was where it really starts stepping up. So I'm keen to hear that unfold.

Mr Thorens, thanks for the feedback. At least someone has listen to the Q so only good things from here on I hope. I'll happily pass on some of my own feedback once it's set up. I'm going to demo a Rega Aria after about 50 hours, to pair of the cart as the phono stage however the next challenge will be what PS? Any suggested PS with dip switches between 50&200 Ohms?

Cheers. 

How much is your limit for the phono stage? Have you heard the Aria yet? I am now a firm believer the phono stage is something you really cannot neglect at all. There are plenty out there but getting the right one is as hard as the cartridge. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Uglu

[Yardbird]

Haven't given it much though at the moment as the pre I have seems to have a decent stage in it. It's only a Emotiva XSP-1 Gen 2. But I've currently been using loaded RCA plugs to get in the cracks as far as factory Ohm settings 100, 470 and 1k which is really noticeable. So the Rega would be a direct comparison. If it's a small difference, then $1800 for the Rega would be hard to justify.

 

[Uglu]

6 minutes ago, Yardbird said:

Haven't given it much though at the moment as the pre I have seems to have a decent stage in it. It's only a Emotiva XSP-1 Gen 2. But I've currently been using loaded RCA plugs to get in the cracks as far as factory Ohm settings 100, 470 and 1k which is really noticeable. So the Rega would be a direct comparison. If it's a small difference, then $1800 for the Rega would be hard to justify.

 

I can't comment specifically on the emotiva  phono but considering the value of the rega Aria which is about the same or even more than the whole emotiva. you are likely to have something much better in the Aria particularly for an MC.

 

I've just changed my PS, the aria was good and I don't mind it but for my taste the highs and mid highs were a bit subdue, good bass and very musical thought.

 

I bought a Cyrus phono signature, a bit more expensive but with some very good points over the rega. If he hasn't sold it, there was a member selling here a Plinius Koru for $1950 you could consider that too is definitely a good stage. The three of them for the price would be a good choice but it depends on how revealing your speakers are otherwise they might just end up sounding a bit different without giving you much more detail.

To open another front you could also consider a SUT regardless of the phono stage having MC input, but that is another step you could consider later. 

[Yardbird]

@Uglu Thanks! I'll check out some of this info once my cart is broken in and understand what value this brings to stage and image etc. I didn't know about SUT, so this seems interesting and might be a way I go instead. Got to read up a little me thinks.

I did demo the Aria in store and although it sounded great, on their gear I am still wondering. Also, the dips are settled at 47, 100, 470 etc from memory. Rega suggests that the Ohms setting for the Ania is at 100, where as I felt that the stage and image and response was better around 165 to 235. So, a little experimenting required. 

 

I'll keep you posted.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Yardbird

[Uglu]

Same with me, most mc manufacturers tend to recommend 100 ohms load when used with a phono stage, but that doesn't always sound quite the best for me either, your set up might play a part on what setting sound best. Being able to adjust load, capacitance and gain gives you a very welcomed extra flexibility. Enjoy the Ortofon!

[andyr]

54 minutes ago, Uglu said:

most mc manufacturers tend to recommend 100 ohms load when used with a phono stage,

 

Where did you get this idea from, U?

 

Benz recommended >470 ohms for my (first edition) Benz LP - however, I found it sounded best @ 3,300 ohms.

The recommendation for the current LPS is >400 ohms.

 

Likewise the Gold Note Donatello has a recommendation for 470 ohms.

 

Andy