Update, more cartridges and a remarkable SUT, July 2025.

Update with more cartridges. June 2025.

Update December 2024:

Update January-2026:

June 2024:
This is not a review of cartridges and turntables with elaborate comments on what I hear from my favourite recordings. I don't do reviews for companies by getting products sent for review. Everything here is out of my own pocket.
I just wanted to know, first hand, what I get from my hard earned money by investing in cartridges, say from around 1k€ to 10k€. Is it worth while?
Thus, my immediate perception of performances. I leave reviews to the pros, some reviewers I believe in, others not so much.

Shure M75 (waaay back), Ortofon MC30 (the 90'ies), Dynavector 10x5, Dynavector XX2 mkII, van den Hul Colibri and Canary, MSL Eminent-Ex, Ortofon MC Anna, etc. There are/were more. In addition to these some borrowed cartridges like Audio Technica AT1000 - and a few more.
Now, I used to think my experience in cartridges is rather limited, but going over my files, I realise I have had quite a few at hand, albeit never at the same time.

After my purchase of Kuzma turntables, the Ortofon Anna-D has been my reference cartridge against which all others must compete. The My Sonic Lab Eminent-Ex comes very, very close to the Anna-D and mostly a matter of taste, that's how good I think it is. Don't think a boron cantilever is the holy grail - there may be more to good sound than that.

Attending the hifi show in Copenhagen, 2024, I once more heard the Grado Ref3 cartridge on a system consisting of Fletcher turntable/tonearm, Manley Steelhead phono stage, Parasound 100 wpc power amp driving Harbeth 40.1 speakers. Damned good sound.
I heard this system the year before - and recall it one of the highlights of the show here in Aarhus town. I had a chat with the exhibiter and decided to try out this Grado Ref3 cartridge, just out of curiosity. MI stands for "moving iron" compared to the most common MM (moving magnet) cartridges. The Grado is a MI cartridge and one of my friends is a true believer in MI cartridges having some advantages over MM (lower moving mass).
For comparative studies I also bought a Rega P8 turntable and mounted it above my workshop Kuzma. For long I had wanted to compare a high-mass turntable against the Rega low-mass concept. Go to Rega website to learn Rega think low-mass is the way to go. Some 4 kgs against 40 kgs, so quite a difference.
To make a long story short, both works excellent, albeit the Kuzma 4P9/Cardas cable seems somewhat superior to the RB880 and the P8 doesn't take a record brush as hard as the Kuzma. I bought the Rega wall-mount - very handy and a great way if space is limited. Mounted on a concrete wall to reduce vibration.

I didn't have the Rega at the time the Grado arrived, thus mounted it on the Kuzma 4P tonearm in my living room. Not a good idea! I was aware of the Grado's high compliance but an effective mass of 18 grams was not the way to go, thus I took it down to the workshop and mounted it on my 4P9 arm (effective mass 13 grams) and this did better, although it would sometimes start wobbling, side to side, and I released the anti-scating, and problem was mostly solved. This cartridge really needs a low-mass arm. And just because we release anti-scating doesn't necessarily mean we don't have any anti-scating. Read from this excellent website: https://www.wallyanalog.com/post/skating-and-anti-skating-force-myths
When the Rega arrived I mounted the Grado at once, RB880 tonearm effective mass 11 grams, and technically this worked well, except the Rega P8 emits a huge amount of 50 Hz noise from its motor.... No Grado on a Rega!! (later I mounted a Humbucker on the P8 and it helped somewhat, read below).

Anyway, the Grado was back on the Kuzma and my MSL went back on the P8 and comparisons could begin. Before this I had the MSL on the Rega and would there be a difference between the Kuzma and the P8? Not a lot. The Kuzma has a Cardas silver tonearm cable, where the P8 has a more "standard" copper cable. I have a suspicion this may count for some difference, but I'm not sure.
I guess most P8 customers would not consider an MSL cartridge costing twice that of the turntable - but for sure the P8 is up to the task. It works really well. The RB880 tonearm is great. The lift is great, the finger grip is great. The armrest lock is great. OK, no adjustment of azimuth and adjusting VTA is trouble requiring spacers under the arm, but Rega apparently talks to people setting up a turntable once and for all and not for people who fancy tweaking and swapping cartridges. Only too bad the P8 and Grado are incompatible due to the AC motor churning out electromagnetic radiation. Rather strange Rega hasn't solved this problem once and for all after 40 years in business, but OK, if only a problem with Grado, then...(I have no hum problem with the 2MB-LVB/MSL/Windfeld/Cadenza cartridges).

Now, after some ten hours of burn-in, I started listening to the Grado mounted on the Kuzma 4P9 tonearm - and what had struck me twice at the hifi shows, did it again here in my workshop. The transparency and dynamics are great. Tonal balance very much like the MSL cartridge. Record after record it proved itself worthy the price tag. For comparison I bought an Ortofon 2M Black LVB and the Grado bettered the 2M significantly. The 2M is a great cartridge that tracks and plays everything without leaving any pressing on the shelf. A friend of mine had bought the LVB replacement for his 2M Black and found it to be like having a new record collection. Still, in comparison, the LVB does add a bit of a veil in front of the performers not leaving the open scenario of the Grado.

Kuzma with Grado Ref3 and Ortofon 2M Black LVB.

Left: MSL Eminent EX, Ortofon Windfeld Ti, Ortofon 2M Black LVB and Grado Ref3.
Right: Grado on Rega P8 turntable.

Right: Modifying the Hagerman Humbucker to fit the Rega P8 (due to the screws holding the motor). This actually made very little difference, but made it better fit around the motor. This Humbucker thing appears to be a simple plate made from rather soft steel, nothing more. It should be put outside the motor to pull away the 50 Hz electromagnetic radiation from the motor.
The Haglabs Humbucker plate is supposed to cure the Grado hum problem - and to some extent it does. Not completely eliminate the problem - but it does help some. Still hum at "inner groove". I put the CLIO mic in front of the bass driver and placed the cartridge close to the label of the record and measured some 5 dB reduction. Still, I would not recommend a Grado cartridge on a Rega turntable. Any other of my cartridges works well on the Rega. Generally the Grado requires a light-weight tonearm and a turntable motor well away of the platter.
The build quality of the Grado leaves a lot to be desired, I'd say even sloppy craftsmanship. See images below.

That said, the Grado Ref3 delivers an astonishing performance. Wide and deep soundstage with all the dynamics we could ask for. If this was built by Ortofon to their normal standard it would be an MC killer - and probably cost 1k€ more - but still be worth it.

Now, what I wanted the most to compare was the Ortofon Anna D, Windfeld Ti and Cadenza Bronze. And I cannot recommend enough the video made by Leif Johannsen at Ortofon that explains the toolbox for making cartridges, in particular MC cartridges. Leif carefully explains how the choice of stylus, cantilever, armature, wiring, damping pad, housing, etc., determines the sound of a cartridge. Video (52 minutes) here, or click image below. Scroll down to the video on Ortofon page.

Thanks a lot, Leif J.

Cadenza Bronze:

Finally the Cadenza Bronze arrived in order to complete the three main cartridges I wanted to compare. Now, choosing the Bronze rather than the Black is due to the Bronze having the same stylus as Windfeld and Anna D, the Replicant 100 stylus, albeit not "polished" as from the latter two. The Cadenza Black has a Shibata stylus. The specs page is wrong on the Windfeld stating diamond cantilever. It is not, rather a boron cantilever. The trap of copy-paste...

Click image to view large.

Prices vary a lot but roughly the Windfeld cost twice that of the Cadenza and the Anna D almost twice that of the Windfeld. Cadenza starts around 2500 EUR.

Starting with the Cadenza on the Rega - out of the box - I wasn't completely happy, but after some 10 hours, things started to sound right. The e.s.t. live recording is a great album for comparing piano sound. The pianist really goes at it and hammering high notes must be clean and smooth and the Rega/Cadenza would sometimes get into trouble with some slight edginess around the notes.
Moving the Cadenza to the Kuzma solved the problem and I don't think I got the alignment of cartridge 100% on the Rega, and will try again once the cartridge is fully broken in.

Now, A-B testing on the Kuzma and Rega is not fair, so having extra headshells for the Kuzma, allows me to fairly quickly change cartridge.

Obviously we're in for diminishing return of our investment going from Cadenza to Anna D, but are there differences?
Replacing the Anna D with the Windfeld Ti on my living room Kuzma 4P (11") tonearm makes very little difference and I could easily live with the Windfeld for evermore. That said, the Anna D has an authority that is hard to ignore, it plays whatever you throw at it with the same ease and obviousness that a sota cartridge should do. I have yet to find a record where the Anna D comes short. The Windfeld does the same, albeit it does sound slightly different, it may appear slightly more lush, but the differences are so small, its a matter of taste.
The Cadenza Bronze compared to the Windfeld... I find recordings where the difference is so subtle it doesn't matter, but on the e.s.t. record the Windfeld is slightly smoother on piano high notes. In terms of overall dynamics, transparency and soundstage the differences between these three cartridges is very, very small. All three takes careful setup with regard to proper alignment.

So, the whole purpose of this exercise was to know fist hand if I feel I get something for my hard earned money going from a 2M Black LVB over the Grado Ref3 to the high-end Ortofon MC cartridges. Indeed so, but as said, diminishing return, but to my ears, worth while.
Going from the 2M to Grado makes a significant increase in transparency and dynamics. The Grado and the Cadenza is pretty much at par on these parametres but the Grado does cost less than the Cadenza - and doesn't need a step-up device, which obviously saves some extra. However, the Grado does take special care in selecting tonearm and turntable.
I'd say the Cadenza is a perfect match for the Rega P8 costing a little more that the turntable and I see no discrepancy in this. The P8 works wonder with the MSL cartridge costing twice of the turntable. And why should a cartridge cost less than the turntable? Watching Leif Johannsen's video on cartridge manufacture, it appears more high-tech than producing a turntable, although I'm sure turntable manufacturers will disagree.

I have some new tonearm wiring coming for the Rega P8 as I don't think comparing the Kuzma and the Rega is quite fair, but for sure the P8 is doing a great job and assuming a cartridge not susceptible to the motor hum, this might please a lot of people for years to come. In daily handling the Kuzma beats the Rega easily having a strong motor that keeps the table spinning while wiping the records, changing motor speed and interchangeable headshell, etc. Great workhorse for someone continuously experimenting.

This vinyl play around will continue - and maybe more comments to come. In the meantime, watch this video on 5 experts discuss the problems of vinyl playback. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krm0n0J6q10 What's the use of a 100k turntable when cartridge manufacturers cannot glue the stylus to cantilever properly? No wonder, some will stick to digital although having its own problems.

Sept. 2024, EAR-MC4:

Quite nice SUT. Thick chrome front and thick enamel on casing.
No switch, but separate inputs for each impedance. Like that.

To play MC cartridges through integrated amps with MM phonostage, I purchased a EAR-MC4 SUT. Having four input impedances, 3-6-12-40 Ohm, it is probably the same as the trannie in my EAR-912 preamp - and I like it a lot. In addition to this I ordered a Living Voice mat for the Rega having bought a ProJect clamp - which didn't work with the ~3 mm felt mat due to a rather short spindle. With the 1 mm LV mat, no problem. I prefer clamps to pucks; less weight.
Now, running the Candenza through the MC4 at 40 Ohms and into the EAR-868PL, MM setting, things appeared to reach another level of solidity and transparency. I'm not sure the inherent 3 mm felt mat of the P8 is that good. Hard to tell, but so far, I'm pleased. Next is a re-wire of the Rega tonearm.

 
The Windfeld Ti has been on the Kuzma for some time. Works very well.

December 2024:

Curiosity can be costly, but I couldn't help thinking about the Cadenza Black. Initially I picked the Bronze to have the same stylus for comparison. The Black holds a Shibata stylus, but on a boron cantilever. What would that do?
Thus, the Black was ordered and added to my highly modded Rega P2. I've read reviews of the Bronze and Black in comparison and I don't fully agree on the conclusions. The differences are nowhere subtle. Yes, the Bronze has a more lush presentation, but the Black is simple more open and clean.
I like it a lot and should anyone find the Windfeld Ti too costly, go for the Cadenza Black. I'll say you get almost the same for half. My reservation about the Shibata stylus is completely gone.
My modded P2 has run the MSL Eminent EX until now, but the Cadenza Black is likely to stay in place for a long time. The Bronze was sold.

June 2025:

From the Ortofon presentations of the new MC X line of cartridges, it is clear Ortofon has found a way of replacing the Quintet range of cartridges from more efficient production methods - and, not least, maintaining the retail prices. Thus, we get the X40 with boron cantilever and Shibata stylus for 1k€, where the Quintet Black S had a sapphire cantilever and the same stylus.
I placed the X40 in my Rega P8 and started listening through my EAR MC4/EAR-868PL. This cartridge apparently takes some burn-in, but after 5-10 hours it started shining.
What we get from the X40 compared to the 2M Black LVB is what MC is all about. A slightly more solid bass presentation, generally more dynamic. That said, I find the 2M LVB a phenomenal cartridge and in daily use the choice may be hard, not least because the LVB does not need a really good MC SUT. My EAR MC4 costs around 2k€ and if you have a really good MM phono stage, I would go with the LVB.
What I admire from Ortofon is their ability to make cartridges, where you pretty much get what you pay for. Comparing the X40 to Cadenza Black we experience a more calm and transparent soundstage. Vinyl listening becomes easier. No doubt the Cadenza Black is a better cartridges, albeit trice the cost. Cadenza Bl against the Windfeld Ti - same thing, but even less distance. As said before, if you can't afford the Windfeld - go with the Cadenza Black. I could live happy ever after with this cartridge, even if I had to sell my Anna D.

My hifi body brought along his Acoustic Solid turntable fitted with the Quintet Black S, the latter version with sapphire cantilever - and the same Shibata stylus.
This was an interesting comparison. The Quintet Bl/s has some 3-400 hours on its back where the X40 was only some 10 hours, but the Q-Bl/s is by no means worn.
The X40 very much proved an upgrade from the Q-B/s delivering significant enhanced dynamics and a more upfront presentation. I'm sure Ortofon not only wanted a replacement of the Quintet Bl/s being easier in production, but at the same time delivering a significant upgrade in performance. The Q-Bl/s appears a quite polite performer, smoothing transients, where the MC X40 do transient attacks significantly better without overdoing. The latter I'm convinced of by comparing the X40 to Cadenza Black and Windfeld Ti, in that respect they're pretty much the same, only you have enhanced resolution from the latter two. More air between performers, easier listening. Several times the cost of the X40, but again - you do get something for your money, but costly for sure.

July 2025:

Reinstalling by workshop gear after the workshop rebuild, I accidently broke the cantilever of my beloved MSL cartridge. A real bummer.
Fortunately I could have it restored by kind intervention of Hans Iversen from nyArtSound, Silkeborg.

This cartridge can do stuff no other of my cartridges can do. I love it!
 

Good fortune had me three items for loan. Something I would otherwise never have considered, but you can never know what's around the next corner.

Charisma is a Canadian distributor of hifi components, link here.
Many years ago I had a Denon 103, the very basic 103 with conical stylus. I didn't have it for long - it was good for cello, and not much more.
Since then, numerous iterations have seen the "revival" of this classic MC cartridge, basically adding a elliptical stylus and some exotic wood for housing.
This Charisma is somewhat different having a ruby cantilever and a fine line stylus.

I guess the cartridge here had never been in use, because it took some hours before the sound settled. Out of the box I wasn't impressed, but one should always give the suspensions time to settle.
I use the Tona and EAR MC4 SUTs before my EAR-868PL set for MM.

I just had some new records, the two to the right Esbjörn Svenssson and the one to the left recommended by a DIY customer. Excellent Polish recording by Polish Radio. Piano and violin.
All of these records will challenge your cartridge, violin always does and the high notes of a piano will tell us something about tracking and distortion.
I compared the Charisma 103 to my 2M Black LVB 250 and in many way it was a tie in terms of resolution and dynamics, the 2M possibly a little bit smoother in the top end, the Charisma possibly a bit more energetic. Should I put a single label on it, it might be "crisp", this without being edgy and overdoing transients. For 750 USD a steal to my mind - but you need a good SUT to make it happen. In that context the 2M will be a winner only needing a good MM phono stage.
Later I compared the Charisma to my Windfeld Ti and I'm sure a lot of people would say potato-potaato, but surely the Windfeld display more air around performers. As said before, it makes listening easier.

The nest cartridge is a Kiseki Agaat, but not an ordinary Agaat, which had a ruby cantilever. This Agaat was rebuilt with a boron cantilever, the armature, windings and stylus I don't know. Apparently the Agaat had stronger magnets compared to the Kiseki Purple Heart.
The Kiseki was mounted on my P8 table and connected to the Tona SUT and long story short, I could live with this cartridge happy ever after. I would rate it in line with the Windfeld Ti. It makes life easy and you can lean back, drink your coffee and relax. I'll see if I can get some more specifics.

Tona SUTs are made 3 km from where I live! In Jægergårdsgade, Aarhus. I couldn't believe it. You can read about the SUT here.
And you can even get the transformers alone to build your own SUT, albeit only with one primary winding. A lot cheaper compared to the ready made product.
The transformers are encased in a lot of iron making up for the final weight of 4.6 kgs/10lb. Despite all iron I found the SUT highly susceptible to nearby transformers, thus had to move my power amp to a lower shelf. The Yoshino MC4, as any other Yoshino product, is dead quiet. No hum.
Should I ever acquire a Tona, it would be with all RCA in and out.

Now, I knew this Tona is serious stuff so I spent en entire afternoon comparing the Tona to my MC4 with signal from the Kiseki cartridge. At the end of the day I had come to the conclusion I just needed a Tona SUT.
Good nights sleep and the test continued the next morning with my Windfeld Ti cartridge. It takes a few minutes to change all the wiring and it is hard to remember exactly what you heard just a few minutes ago. The conclusion this morning was a tie. I could not pinpoint any parametre where one would excel over the other. It's a tricky thing having a new gadget in hand, especially it it is expensive - and had good reviews (Michael Fremer). It is bound to impact our perception of things once we know stuff. Any comparison should take place over several days and with different cartridges and different music.
Still, after many sessions, it's a close to a tie between the Tona and MC4, the Tona possibly being slightly smoother and more transparent in the high frequency range.
Yes, the Tona was also tested on the MC Anna cartridge, EAR-912 phono stage. Same story. I may have to purchase a pair of these 20x DIY trannies...

As thanks for the loan, I made him a mahogany case.

January 2026:


For some reason the 4P (11) appears to have an advantage over the 4P9 - or it is just my liking of the 4P that does it. Whatever, I bought a 2nd 4P and the side board for my workshop turntable. For the time being the Anna D resides the workshop tonearm, while my rebuilt MSL Eminent Ex resides my living room system. In both places I use the Tona SUT.