By all accounts it’s the tapered (conical) aluminum cantilever that grants this "warmth". Because that’s the only significant difference to other models of that same motor design and housing. In fact its predecessor the Kontrapunkt "c" had pure silver wire, and it was even warmer (maybe due to its plastic inner housing versus aluminum on Cadenzas). I still think so fondly of the Kontra; I might have preferred it.
It’s not overbearingly warm, and far from mushy. The sound is a kind of hybrid of Ortofon’s "modern" MC sound and the classic "warm" MC’s like SPU and Koetsu. Not as precise and clean as a Windfeld Ti, but it’s a really, really nice and very musical cartidge! Recommended.
These conical cantilever models have such a nice sound, you’ll wonder why it isn’t more common. Well, apparently it’s a difficult part to produce/source. You’ll also notice the cantilevers tend to be a little askew more often (if it’s not too bad, just align to the cantilever), so it must also be harder for Ortofon to install.