ORTOFON Cadenza Blue Moving Coil Cartridge

Ortofon is one of the worlds most trusted brands for turntable cartridges - from DJ's and radio stations to Audiophiles and Music lovers. When moving up in the world of vinyl playback it is nearly always going to end up being a Moving Coil cartridge that gives the performance leap above a certain price point. The Ortofon Cadenza range are proof of this. 

ORTOFON Cadenza Blue Moving Coil Cartridge

The first of the MC ranges is the Quintet range which is a taste of what MC carts can do... then there is the Cadenza range - taking over from the now defunct Kontrapunkt range. The Cadenza cartridge range is where the benefits of an MC cartridge are readily apparent with the extra detail, smoothness, soundstage and texture that MC carts are renowned for.

Nude FG 70 stylus with a very thin ruby cantilever.

The Cadenza Blue model is using a Nude Fine Line stylus with a thin Ruby cantilever. The stylus tip radius is r/R 6/70 µm. The coils are made from 6NX (99.9999 %) pure silver wire. The thinner, stiffer, lighter stylus/cantilever let the Cadenza Blue dig out more details and more extended, delicate highs. The soundstage is also bigger than the Cadenza Red certainly giving a feeling of a faster, more open sound.

The Cadenza Blue builds on the sound signature of the Red adding a surprising amount of micro detail, air and texture to the overall presentation.

Quotes from Reviews - Ortofon Cadenza Blue 

"...The Cadenza Blue is created to maximize detail retrieval from a record, and yet accomplish this task without skewing the frequency response, or creating unnatural phase shifts that result in the facade of heightened resolution. Even though the Blue is a remarkably detailed cartridge, it does not sacrifice the integrity of the music to accomplish this. ... "

"...Another attribute of the Cadenza Blue that I find captivating is how this cartridge portrays space... The Cadenza Blue keeps this aspect of the recording tightly focused, and it is possible to listen to the reflected vocals as clearly as you do the initial phrasing...In some ways listening to the emptiness of the room adds another dimension to the music, and the Cadenza Blue allows a listener to hear space and the blackness between the played notes in a way that helps define the music. A gifted composer uses the attributes of silence and time between notes as an element of the composition, and the Cadenza Blue faithfully reproduces these aspects of the music for us to hear..." : POSITIVE FEEDBACK issue 98 JULY 2018

"...if you want a cartridge to give you detail, space, integrity and vitality and fresh insights into every old-favourite LP you put on, the Cadenza Blue will do just fine... " :  HIFI NEWS 2010 

ORTOFON CADENZA BLUE SPECIFICATIONS :

Output voltage at 1 kHz 5 cm/sec - 0,5 mV
Channel balance - < 1,2 dB
Channel separation at 1 kHz - > 23 dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz - > 15 dB
Frequency range at -3 dB - 20 Hz - 50 kHz
Frequency response 20 Hz - 20 kHz - +2/-1
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at recommended tracking force *) - 80 μm
Compliance, dynamic, lateral - 12 μm/mN
Stylus type - Nude FG 70 on Ruby cantilever
Stylus tip radius - r/R 6/70
Tracking force range - 2,2-2,7 g (22-27 mN)
Tracking force recommended - 2,5 g (25 mN)                                                 Tracking angle - 20º
Internal impedance, DC resistance - 5 Ohm
Recommended load impedance - 50-200 Ohm
Cartridge body material - Stainless steel Aluminium
Cartridge colour - Blue/Black
Cartridge weight - 10,7 g