Ortofon Cadenza Blue MC-Cartridge

• 1 x Stylus brush, fibre
• 1 x Screwdriver
• Leadwires, pair LW-6N
• Screws, pair M2,5 x 3
• Screws, pair M2,5 x 5
• Screws, pair M2,5 x 6

MC Cadenza Blue Technical data

• 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)
• *) Typical value
• 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

Review

Positive Feedback Issue 98, July 2018

By John Hoffman

"...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..."

"...there are those rare instances where you encounter a component that expresses the organic nature of music in a way that galvanizes your listening experience. The Ortofon Cadenza Blue does this for me, and I willingly admit to being enchanted with the abilities of this cartridge..."

Read the complete review here https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/ortofon-cadenza-blue-cartridge/ 

The Cadenza series

At Ortofon, we constantly look for new technology to be used in our products and push the performance of existing technology. Thus we assure the highest level of performance and quality. The Kontrapunkt models and MC Jubilee became market standards and are among our most popular cartridges. Nevertheless, Ortofon decided to develop a new cartridge series that is even more ambitious.

By carefully implementing cobalt-iron pole pieces, new improved winding process on the armature, using extruded aluminium housing in the models as well as other changes, we have been able to reveal new possibilities in performing the analogue information. It was also decided to make a more complete range of cartridges, which meant an introduction of a moving coil Cadenza Mono model to support our customers, who have an extended interest in micro groove mono records.

Each of the five Cadenza Series cartridges has its own individual sonic expression, and all five models together represent the ensemble of five classic variations:

MC Cadenza Mono is a true mono cartridge for playing mono microgroove vinyl records

MC Cadenza Red delivers open, dynamic sound with a touch of warmth

MC Cadenza Blue adds more dynamics and resolution, sounds more open and reproduces more details

MC Cadenza Bronze adds even more details and resolution but in a very evenhanded way that pays respect to all elements

MC Cadenza Black is the best of everything, true to the groove with resolution and accurate insight into each recording

The story about Cadenza

Cadenza (from Italian: meaning cadence) refers to a portion of a concert in which the orchestra stops playing, leaving the soloist to play alone in free time, without a strict, regular pulse. A cadenza can be written or improvised. It’s usually the most elaborate and virtuosic part the solo instrument plays during the whole piece. At the end of the cadenza, the orchestra re-enters and generally finishes off the movement.

During the 19th century, composers began to write cadenzas out in full. Others wrote cadenzas for works, where the composer had intended for the solo to be improvised, in order for the soloist to have a well-formed solo that they could practice in advance. Some of these have become so widely played and sung that they are effectively a part of the standard repertoire.