Ortofon MC Cadenza Black Phono Cartridge

Recommended Component 2024 – Stereophile

Amazing Tonal Neutrality, Dynamics, and Purity of Sound

Ortofon's Cadenza Black MC phono cartridge is optimized for amazing tonal neutrality, dynamics, and purity of sound.

The Cadenza Black uses a 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 aluminum. It also uses the WRD/Wide Range Damping-system applied for MC Windfeld, MC A90, MC Anna, Xpression and MC A95 cartridges, controlling the high and low frequency damping separately. The coil wire is the famous Ortofon Aucurum wire, which is a gold plated 6NX copper wire.

Cadenza Black excels in areas like detail, consistency and sound staging.

"Recommended Component" Honors

Stereophile honored the Ortofon Cadenza Black by awarding it the magazine's coveted Recommend Component status for 2024.

According to Stereophile, "Playing a 1997 test pressing of Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra, MF found that, with the Cadenza Black, SME's Model 6 turntable 'exploded to life.' It offered 'drum slam, transparency, and bass finesse.'"

"As Good as It Gets at a 'Reasonable' Price"

"The Black offered a beautifully smooth, svelte and expansive sound stage. It has generous stage depth and always sounds relaxed and in control of proceedings," reports Noel Keywood, Hi-Fi World, April 2010. "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...the Black is a lovely cartridge."

"Ortofon’s Cadenza Black is a great real-world moving coil, being super-accomplished in absolute terms without being crazily priced," notes David Price, StereoNET, April 4, 2022. "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."

"Wonderfully Neutral"

Part-Time Audiophile included the Cadenza Black in its The Best Phono Cartridges, Tonearms and Headshells Buyers Guide 2022. "Using a nude Shibata stylus with a boron cantilever, the Cadenza Black is a wonderfully neutral cartridge. The trick here is lightness in the materials used, which results in a fast, dynamic sound. If you’re a huge fan of ginormous soundstages and pinpoint."

Ortofon's Cadenza Series

Ortofon constantly looks for new technology to be used in its products and pushes the performance of existing technology. Thus it assures the highest level of performance and quality. The Kontrapunkt models and MC Jubilee became market standards and are among Ortofon’s most popular cartridges. Nevertheless Ortofon decided to develop a new cartridge series that is even more ambitious.

By carefully implementing cobalt-iron pole pieces, a new improved winding process on the armature, using extruded aluminum housing in the models as well as other changes, Ortofon has been able to reveal new possibilities in retrieving the analog information for superb audio playback.

Product Features

Overview

Moving coil phono cartridge
Nude Shibata stylus with a boron cantilever
Coil wire is the famous Ortofon Aucurum wire, which is a gold plated 6NX copper wire
WRD/Wide Range Damping-system controls the high and low frequency damping separately
Improved winding process on the armature allows a superior channel balance

In the Box

1 x Stylus brush, fiber
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

Product Specs

Output voltage at 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec. - 0,33 mV
Channel balance at 1 kHz - < 0,8 dB
Channel separation at 1 kHz - > 27 dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz - > 20 dB
Frequency range at - 3dB - 20 - 60.000 Hz
Frequency response 20 kHz - 20 kHz - +1,5/0
Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force - 90 µm
Compliance, dynamic, lateral - 16 µm/mN
Stylus type - Nude Shibata on Boron cantilever
Stylus tip radius - r/R 6/50 µm
Tracking force range - 2,0-2,5 g (20-25 mN)
Tracking force, recommended - 2,3 g (23 mN)
Tracking angle - 20°
Internal impedance, DC resistance - 5 Ohm
Recommended load impedance - > 10 Ohm
Cartridge body material - Stainless steel Aluminum
Cartridge color - Black/Black
Cartridge weight – 10.7 gram

Product Warranty

1 Year

Parts & Labor

Ortofon Warranty Information

Recommended Component 2024 – Stereophile

"Playing a 1997 test pressing of Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra, MF found that, with the Cadenza Black, SME's Model 6 turntable 'exploded to life.' It offered 'drum slam, transparency, and bass finesse.'"

- Stereophile, March 15, 2024

The Best Phono Cartridges, Tonearms and Headshells | Buyers Guide 2022 - Part-Time Audiophile

"Using a nude Shibata stylus with a boron cantilever, the Cadenza Black is a wonderfully neutral cartridge. The trick here is lightness in the materials used, which results in a fast, dynamic sound. If you’re a huge fan of ginormous soundstages and pinpoint."

- parttimeaudiophile.com - 2018 Editors' Choice Buyer's Guide, December 2018

"The Black uses many moving parts of the A90...sound is weighty and satisfyingly rhythmic...The Black offered a beautifully smooth, svelte and expansive sound stage. It has generous stage depth and always sounds relaxed and in control of proceedings."

"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...the Black is a lovely cartridge."

- Noel Keywood, Hi-Fi World, April 2010

"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."

- David Price, StereoNET, April 4, 2022