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RRP: £2449.00
The Cadenza Series of high-end Moving Coil (MC) cartridges was born out of the success of Ortofon's Kontrapunkt and MC Jubilee models. Though those models are amongst the most popular Ortofon has ever produced, the Danish cartridge masters still decided to develop a new range that was even more ambitious.
The Cadenza Black is a flagship-status cartridge that boasts a pristine-cut Nude Shibata stylus with a boron cantilever. The effective mass of the stylus/cantilever system is extremely low due to the use of a very thin boron rod; this material is extremely stiff and even more lightweight than aluminium, making it a real premium component choice. The coil wire is the famous Ortofon Aucurum wire, which is a gold plated version of the popular 6NX copper wire.
This cartridge has been optimised for an amazing tonal neutrality, dynamics and purity of sound. It performs better than any other cartridge at this level in detail, consistency and sound staging. Additionally, the Black model also uses Ortofon's Wide Range Damping (WRD) system, effectively controlling the high- and low-frequency damping separately. This system works by clamping a small, heavy disc of exotic metal between two rubber absorbers with different properties. The result is superlative tracking ability (90µm with the Cadenza Black) with perfect damping across the whole frequency range and no distortion or resonance.
The Cadenza range consists of four core colour models along with a Mono version. With top-of-the-range technologies throughout, and a consistent high-quality standard in production, this iconic series from Ortofon truly are one of the most versatile and capable ranges of phono cartridges on the market today. For more information about the shared Cadenza elements across the range as a whole CLICK HERE
Ortofon Cadenza Black MC Phono Cartridge Review
"Ortofon’s Cadenza Black is a great real-world moving coil, being super-accomplished in absolute terms without being crazily priced. It has a calm, measured but highly detailed and intimate presentation that many will love. As such, it’s well worth taking it for a spin..."
StereoNET Product of the Year Awards 2022
"Vinyl junkies are always on the lookout for the best value moving coil cartridge, and this is a serious candidate for such an accolade."
Ortofon Cadenza Black Review
"If you are looking for an ultimately smooth and sophisticated sonic delivery from LP, Ortofon's new Cadenza Black is as good as it gets at what is a 'reasonable' price..."
Ortofon Cadenza Black
"Sweet, smooth, sophisticated sound. Classy premium-priced MC."
Arts and crafts
"The good news is that this system seems completely unfazed by what you throw at it."
Henley Says...
Ortofon Cadenza represent the tip of the 'Red, Blue, Bronze, Black' series nomenclature, taking those same priciples of stepping up and upgrading your sound throughout the range and applying them to a premium moving coil series of cartridges. Being a solid go-to for demos of mid to high-end turntables in our showroom, we are all very familliar with the capabilities of the different models - picking and choosing which model to use based on music taste, system matching and sound preferences.
Cartridge installation takes time and requires a level of understanding for the turntable/tonearm you are fiiting to. We've put together some comprehensive advice and size guides, available here, which will help you through each step of the procedure.
However, if at any time you feel uncomfortable with the task at hand, be sure to contact us or your local retailer for assistance.
Moving Coil (MC) cartridges generate an electrical signal by moving a tightly wound coil between two magnets. The movement is created by the cantilever, which houses the diamond stylus at its end and rides within the modulations of a record groove.
As opposed to Moving Magnet (MM) cartridges, MC designs are more difficult to produce - but often result in a more nuanced sound. For that reason, they are also often more expensive and boast better components than MM designs.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the powerful magnet inside, Moving Coil cartridges cannot be installed on turntables with magnetic (i.e. steel) platters.
For more on cartridge technology, read our informative article.
The Ortofon Moving Coil Cartridge Exchange Scheme is designed to help existing Ortofon customers update or renew their Moving Coil cartridge in a much more cost-effective way.
Through the scheme, Ortofon offer a trade-in value for the current range of moving coil cartridges, as well as an extensive list of discontinued models. Through this program, we are able to help customers upgrade, replace or slightly downgrade their current phono cartridge in a more economical way than usual.
