Equipment:
McIntosh mc312 Poweramp
Audio research LS28SE line Preamp
PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamp
VPI Super Prime Scout
Vandersteen Treo CT speakers
Two meter William Tell bi-wire speaker wire
One meter Water balanced cables from phono preamp to preamp and from preamp to poweramp.
One meter Yosemite turntable cables
My bias: I really liked the idea of the Cadenza Blue with my system. Ortofon, a company that nearly invented mechanical sound generation starting in 1918 and a cartridge designed to be very precise, with my system of tubes, McIntosh, and Vandersteen to smooth out the sound I thought that would be an unbeatable combination. Tho much less predisposed to the Starling, I liked the idea of Japanese design and manufacturing precision producing the detailed cartridge sound I believed I wanted.
I recently auditioned both the Cadenza Blue and Starling with the setup above. For both cartridges both the tonearm leveling and azimuth were well under one degree from flat (visually perfectly flat using a Elvon Azuth/VTA tool). I found i much preferred the Starling and it was not even close.
The Cadenza was very precise but lacked depth and sounded very very very sharp. The Starling was just as precise, but better precise and sounded so much smoother and real, lacking any sharpness. When I audition cartridges I start the same song at the same time on my turntable and my DAC (Benchmark DAC3) and switch back and forth to compare sounds. When doing this comparison I literally heard no difference with the Cadenza. Impressive in a certain sense, but in my view very disappointing. When doing this comparison with the Starling it's comprehensive superiority was so evident. Precision with smooth edges, warmth and a completely captivating experience. I can't recommend the Starling high enough.
