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Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze

Cartridge

Relative price

below typical

Among the 89 cartridges in the catalogue, this one is below typical.

A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.

What it is

Sweet spot in Quintet range — Fine Line stylus enters here.

Open and detailed reproduction across the spectrum.

Competition record

Assessed against 17 rivals across the sixty systems: 2 head-to-heads won, 63 lost.

Where it gives ground

The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.

  • quietness at rest ×32
  • low-level clarity ×15
  • bass control ×12
  • rhythmic grip ×2

Who it comes up against

van den Hul The Frog

20 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Anchored brief, the van den Hul The Frog keeps the slot decisively.

With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl gives up quietness at rest under the Anchored weighting.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

low bass notes boomed uncontrollablyPositive Feedback (Micallef) 2015

van den Hul The Crimson

15 lost · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Characterful brief, the van den Hul The Crimson keeps the slot decisively.

With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

low bass notes boomed uncontrollablyPositive Feedback (Micallef) 2015

Goldring Eroica HX MC

4 lost · Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Goldring Eroica HX MC keeps the slot decisively.

With the Whest Audio 60Se Pro, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Whest Audio 60Se Pro gives up quietness at rest under the Silent Path weighting.

Hana EL MC

4 lost · Anchored, Characterful, Intimate, Romantic

Against the Anchored brief, the Hana EL MC keeps the slot decisively.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gains most on speed stability.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Anchored weighting.

remarkable job tracing groovesPositive Feedback (Gibbs) 2018

Sumiko Blue Point No.3 Low MC

4 lost · Artisan, Cavity-Native, PRaT, Reference

Against the Artisan brief, the Sumiko Blue Point No.3 Low MC keeps the slot decisively.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gains most on bass control.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Artisan weighting.

low bass notes boomed uncontrollablyPositive Feedback (Micallef) 2015

van den Hul The Colibri

3 lost · Artisan, Reference

Against the Artisan brief, the van den Hul The Colibri keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Linn Kendo MC

2 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Linn Kendo MC keeps the slot clearly.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Etsuro Urushi Gold MC

2 lost · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC

2 lost · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

van den Hul MC One Special

2 lost · Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Romantic brief, the van den Hul MC One Special keeps the slot decisively.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

With the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G), the pairing gains most on bass control.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Romantic weighting.

low bass notes boomed uncontrollablyPositive Feedback (Micallef) 2015
almost total lack of groove noise and distortionSoundStage! (Lyle) 2001

Koetsu Azule Platinum MC

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Azule Platinum MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Ortofon MC Quintet Black S

1 lost · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the Ortofon MC Quintet Black S keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Rega Nd3 MM

1 lost · Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Rega Nd3 MM keeps the slot decisively.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Linn Koil MC

1 lost · BBC Sound

Against the BBC Sound brief, the Linn Koil MC keeps the slot decisively.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up low-level clarity under the BBC Sound weighting.

Goldring Eroica LX MC

0 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze takes the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge for that brief.

Goldring 1042 MM

0 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze takes the slot clearly.

On its own merits the Ortofon MC Quintet Bronze is the stronger cartridge for that brief.

What the reviewers said

Fine Line stylus + Aluminium cantilever mid-tier MC Ortofon Quintet series positioning· Tonal body
smoothness and coherency... trademark Positive Feedback (Micallef) 2015· Tonal consistency
rich, textured, refined, full bottom end Positive Feedback (Hoffman) 2015· Tonal body
low bass notes boomed uncontrollably Positive Feedback (Micallef) 2015· Bass control
bigger soundstage... fast delivery Positive Feedback (Micallef) 2015· Spatial resolution
22dB channel separation at 1kHz SPEC: channel separation 22dB @1kHz (manufacturer)· Spatial naturalness

How it scores

Clarity

  • Spatial resolution 76 from listening evidence

Voice

  • Tonal body 76 from listening evidence
  • Spatial naturalness 68 from listening evidence

LowerVolume

  • Tonal consistency 82 from listening evidence

Specifications

cartridge typeMC
output mv0.3
internal impedance ohm5.0
recommended load ohm20
tracking force g2.1/2.5
compliance dynamic um per mn15
weight g9.0
stylus profilenude Fine Line
cantilever materialaluminium
body materialABS
channel separation db22.0
notes