Ortofon Quintet Bronze MC Cartridge

[Jim]

Is anyone familiar with this line of cartridges from Ortofon? I'm looking to do a MC cartridge on my Dual 701 and wanted to see about this cartridge,or another line that would be similar to the Ortofon line.

 

I tried the Denon DL-110 and it wasn't for me. So I am looking for a different direction to go.

 

I am most likely going to just use an external phono pre able to handle both MM/MC carts,unless I can learn a little about SUT's and how they work into the system.

 

I already own the Ortofon OM40 and VMS 30E MKII cartridges,and would like to step up to something along the MC side .

 

Any info is greatly appreciated.

[RottenPilot]

Hi Jim,

I can't comment on how the the Dl-110 would compare to the Quintet bronze but I will tell you what I know based on a recent listen.

I have a friend that was setting up a system for his son and the table he set up was a Dual 721 which isn't your model but perhaps it is close enough for this comparison.

He purchased a used Quintet bronze from a friend that put about 30 hours on it and then upgraded to a Cadenza Red. We listened to both cartridges on the 721. The Quintet was nice, and the Cadenza was better. It was fuller, smoother and more detailed. With that said, I would expect it to be because it is much higher priced. Worth the price difference? That depends on your system.

Enter a third cartridge that I have never heard of, the Zu / DL-103R. This cartridge came over the next day courtesy of another good friend. On this day, we only had the Bronze and the Zu to compare. I wish I could have compared it to the Cadenza Red because in my opinion it totally bested the Quintet. I like a lively detailed punchy sound. Smooth and punchy but not harsh or bright. The Zu / DL-103R was really really nice. As it turns out, it is about $600 so it isn't cheap, but it is in your price range.

I feel the bass was more taunt and punchy compared to the Quintet. I also feel the soundstage was less congested. I have a hard time describing that. Some might say it sounder wider but I describe it as more open or airy. Just more present to listen to yet it had good punch and speed.

I don't know what type of music you listen to but during the comparisons, I heard some classic rock, some jazz and some 80's stuff like The Human League, Berlin, Talking Heads etc and it did justice to all of it. I do think it is a good contender and I personally liked it better than the Quintet and the Cadenza.

For the record, I am a fan of Ortofon and I currently have a Cadenza Black on my VPI Classic 3, but in your case, I would strongly put my money on the Zu.

Just my .02 but it thought I would pass it on my observations.