Ortofon Cadenza Red
Ortofon MM cartridge fitted with a bare fine line stylus and pure silver coils, designed for demanding vinyl enthusiasts.
Description
The Cadenza Red is a moving magnet (MM) cartridge from Ortofon, designed to be fitted to a turntable tonearm. It belongs to a family of cartridges designed to offer precise groove tracking, relying on carefully engineered stylus geometry and materials chosen for their purity.
The stylus is a fine line type, mounted bare directly onto an aluminium cantilever. This type of stylus profile, with an r/R radius of 8/40 µm, follows the modulations cut into the groove more closely than a conventional spherical stylus, which favours the reproduction of detail and reduces record wear over time. The coils are made from pure 6NX silver wire, with a purity of 99.9999%, a material known for its conductivity and tonal neutrality. Ortofon also states that it has improved the armature winding process to achieve better balance between the two stereo channels.
This cartridge is aimed at vinyl enthusiasts with a turntable and tonearm of good standard, capable of making the most of a fine stylus and a quality signal. It suits demanding listening, where tracking precision and stereo balance matter as much as overall sound reproduction.
Technical specifications
| Type | Moving Coil (MC) |
| Technology | Moving coil, high-purity silver coil wire |
| Cantilever | Aluminium |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz - 20 kHz, +3/-1 dB |
| Impedance | 5 Ohm |
| Output impedance | 50-500 Ohm (recommended load) |
| Compliance | 12 μm/mN (dynamic, lateral) |
| Output level | 450 μV at 1 kHz, 5 cm/sec |
| Channel separation | > 23 dB at 1 kHz |
| Recommended tracking force | 2.5 g (range 2.2-2.7 g) |
| Weight | 10.7 g |
| Finish | Aluminium/stainless steel body, red/black colour |
What to check before buying used
When buying used, the most critical element remains the condition of the stylus itself: a fine line stylus, more delicate than a spherical one, can show wear that is invisible to the naked eye but audible, particularly if it has seen heavy use or if vertical tracking angle (VTA) has not been respected. It is also worth checking the integrity of the aluminium cantilever, which is sensitive to knocks and rough handling during fitting or removal, as well as the general condition of the output wires and connectors, which can oxidise or become fragile over time.
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