After some problems with my Koetsu Black on the Rega RP 10, I decided to order a new cartridge.
The choice was the Ortofon Cadenza Black. Although I was not sure, if the Cadenza is to much mainstream, I am now very happy. It works so well with the RP 10. Ok, I have to use spacers (1x 3mm) for VTA, but I had used spacers (2,5 mm) for the Koetsu too. The output of 0,3 mV is just perfect for the Superline and I run the cartridge with 47 kOhm and with the 4.7 nF. Without the capacitance there is a little hiss.
Now I am discovering all my collection a second time. I did not even thought about that the Cadenza pleases me so much better than the Koetsu.
Ok, no question in this post and not even about Naim gear, but I wanted to share my experience, because I have not found very much about the Cadenza in this forum.
Hi
I have the Cadenza Red.
I swapped it over from the Linn Krystal on my Lp12.
I have auditioned a few cartridges from Lyra, Dynavector, Audio Technica & Benz cartridges which are all around £1000 to £1300. for the money the Red is excellent & takes some beating to my ears. I will probably try the blue next as the bronze is a bit too far for my price range.
I think the Black fits perfectly to the RB 2000. The tonearm mass is 11 g, the Cadenza has 10.7 g and a compliance of 16. So you get a resonance frequency between 8 and 9 Hz. That’s quite good.
Thanks @ChrisBerlin, me as well I consider cadenza line as top notch. I would evaluate zyx as well but I knew about lot of issue…and probably the apheta 3 is a super happy marriage
I am surprised how well the Black combines warmth with richness of detail and dynamics. It does not become exhausting even after long periods of listening. From my point of view, what should be emphasized about the Black is that the pickup causes minimal groove noises. Especially with music with very quiet passages it sounds very pleasant. What I actually liked a little bit better about the Koetsu is the extremely soft and pleasing representation of strings.
@RogerGround: Do you also run a Superline? With which resistance and capacitance do you use your phono pre?
I use 100ohm and 65db gain.
I cannot alter, I think, the capacitance on my phono stage. It is a while since a set it up.
Just remembered, the capacitance setting is only for MM on my phono stage: according to the manufacturers when I asked the question.
Thanks! I would suggest that you try a much higher resistance than 100 Ohm. In my system the resistance of 47 kOhm made a much more open sound, bigger soundstage and more details. And the punch in bass is not gone.