[Audiophilehi]

Originally Posted by mulveling

On the Cadenza models, note that they're different enough (e.g. compliance, cantilever, stylus) that one might be an optimal match for a given tonearm while the other isn't. The Bronze, Blue, and Red models have a lower than average compliance of 12, which lends them more to medium-high mass arms. The Black is a more typical 16. I.e. the Black might not necessarily beat the Bronze on a heavier arm.

I once had Ortofon's predecessors of the Bronze & Black for comparison: Kontrapunkt c = Bronze and Jubilee = Black; on a Fidelity Research FR64fx arm (heavy, with effective mass 20g), the Kontra was better than the Jubilee. The Windfeld MC (same 16 compliance as Black/Jubilee) had some struggles on this arm too. I now have a Cadenza Bronze, and like the Kontra, it's a stunning match on the FR arm.

One change from Kontra c to Bronze is the use of the Replicant (micro-ridge) stylus on the latter. That actually makes it a bit more fussy in setup accuracy than either the Kontra, Jubilee, or Black. Something else to keep in mind. I also thought I read somewhere that VPI really likes the Bronze, but I'd imagine both models would do quite well on a VPI 12" arm.

Thanks Mike...the bronze is also more budget friendly for me.