Ortofon - MC Cadenza Red Phono Cartridge

The entry to Ortofon’s Cadenza series: a nude Fine Line diamond and 6NX pure silver coils, with the widest loading window in the family.

Every Cadenza shares a 10.7g body built from stainless steel and aluminium, a 5 ohm internal impedance and a motor system Ortofon describes as using cobalt-iron pole pieces with an improved armature winding process. From there the models diverge on three axes at once — diamond profile, cantilever material and coil wire — which is unusual, and it is why the steps between them are larger than the colour-coded naming suggests.

The Cadenza Red opens the series with a nude Fine Line diamond at r/R 8/40 µm on a cylindrical aluminium cantilever, and coils wound from 6NX — 99.9999% — pure silver wire. Ortofon describes the result as relaxed, homogeneous and moderately dynamic, with great space and depth in the stereo image.

Output is 450 µV and the frequency range extends to 50kHz at −3dB. Practically, the most useful thing about it is the loading: Ortofon publishes 50 to 500 ohms, the widest window in the series, which makes it far easier to dial in than cartridges that want a single narrow value.

Features

• Nude Fine Line diamond, r/R 8/40 µm, on a cylindrical aluminium cantilever
• Coils wound from 6NX (99.9999%) pure silver wire
• Stainless steel and aluminium body; cobalt-iron pole pieces
• Frequency range to 50kHz at −3dB
• 50 to 500 ohm recommended load — the widest window in the Cadenza range
• 450 µV output; 5 ohm internal impedance; 10.7g

Specifications

• Type: Moving coil stereo cartridge
• Output Voltage: 450 µV (0.45mV) at 1kHz, 5cm/sec
• Channel Balance at 1kHz: Less than 1.5dB
• Channel Separation at 1kHz: Greater than 23dB
• Channel Separation at 15kHz: Greater than 15dB (Ortofon Cadenza brochure; not on the current product page)
• Frequency Range: 20Hz – 50,000Hz at −3dB
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz, +3 / −1dB
• Tracking Ability at 315Hz: 80 µm
• Compliance: 12 µm/mN, dynamic lateral
• Stylus Type: Nude Fine Line diamond
• Stylus Tip Radius: r/R 8/40 µm
• Cantilever: Cylindrical aluminium
• Coil Wire: 6NX (99.9999%) pure silver
• Motor System: Cobalt-iron pole pieces with Ortofon’s improved armature winding process
• Tracking Force Range: 2.2 – 2.7g
• Recommended Tracking Force: 2.5g
• Tracking Angle: 20°
• Internal Impedance, DC Resistance: 5 Ω
• Recommended Load Impedance: 50 – 500 Ω
• Cartridge Body Material: Stainless steel and aluminium
• Colour: Red / Black
• Cartridge Weight: 10.7g
• Stylus Replacement: Ortofon states plainly that the styli in moving coil cartridges are non-replaceable, so there is no swap-in stylus for this cartridge. What Ortofon runs instead is an Exchange Service through participating authorised dealers: a worn or damaged MC cartridge — any condition, bought anywhere — is taken in at 25% of the current list price against the purchase of a new Ortofon cartridge of equivalent or better model. Note that is a credit against a new purchase, not a repair price. Ortofon also runs a separate Repair Service for out-of-warranty MC cartridges
• Tonearm Matching: Ortofon publishes no recommended tonearm effective mass for this model. Its general guidance is that an arm of 10g effective mass or below counts as low mass and 11 to 25g as moderate mass, that high mass requires low compliance and vice versa, and that the target is a cartridge and arm system resonance between 7 and 12Hz, with 10Hz recommended
• Stylus Life: Ortofon rates its styli at up to 1000 hours with proper care. This is a general figure across the range rather than a per-model specification
• Origin: Ortofon A/S of Nakskov, Denmark. Ortofon states that all its cartridges are designed and crafted in Denmark
• Warranty: Ortofon publishes no warranty period for its moving coil cartridges on its own site. Ortofon Inc. covers cartridges bought from an authorised US dealer for one year against defects in workmanship and materials, excluding expendable items
• Not Published: Channel separation at 15kHz on the product page; recommended tonearm effective mass
• Note: Third-party retippers will rebuild cartridges like this one, but that sits entirely outside Ortofon’s published position and the result will not carry Ortofon’s specifications