The Ortofon Quintet Black S Review! 

Excellent review Chris...well done ol man. Rod

Your reviews are phenomenal & very accurate. Today I auditioned the quintet black s mounted on the project x8 turntable & I was trully amazed. Everything you describe about the sonic character of the quintet was there when I was listening to my records. Welldone mate.

Good video. Thanks!

Hi Chris. I watch your videos regularly, despite not being in the market for audio gear. You and Tarun (British Audiophile) are my favorites. Concise but thorough; detailed but not boring; smooth, articulate and funny. Great entertainment! BTW, I think your use of the word "harmony" is spot on. "Musical" doesn't convey a concept I can unwrap. When vocals and instruments are in harmony, they blend, compliment and enhance each other. They are "BALANCED". We might start seeing "harmony" used more often as a standard term, cuz of you. Keep it up! Best.

Thank you for the explanation between Black and Black S :)

Awesome review and finally someone else has the S3B preamp which I’ve been using for a while. Would love to hear more of your thoughts on the S3B.

Very interesting 👌

Another unbiased and informative video! Wondering if youre planning on finishing up the ortofon color lines with the cadenza black?

Nice review Chris! I used the Quintet Black S for about 2 years before upgrading to the Cadenza Black a couple of months ago. It is a fantastic cartridge for the money, I'm stumped to think of anything at the price (Moving Coil wise) that can compete. I'd also add that if you're on a budget up to $1500/ £1300 there's little that if anything beats it outright, I actually preferred it to Ortofon's own Cadenza Red, I'd suggest that you have to go to the Cadenza Blue before there is a significant upgrade. When I came to my upgrade earlier this year I had intended to buy the Cadenza Blue but I found myself questioning the absolute sonic upgrade, so with Ortofon's trade in and a generous discount from dealer I was able to afford the Black, which really is a significant upgrade but at more than twice the price of Quintet Black S. The really amazing thing about the QBS is the lack of surface noise the fine line really gets deep in the grooves and bellow noise cause by light surface marks, remarkable for a sub $1000 cartridge. Indeed this cartridge is balanced and fluid, it offers a good amount of high end capability at a very reasonable price and is unfussy regards surface imperfections. I'd recommend it to anyone with a decent phono stage.

Nice. I missed hitting Dearborn music when I was in Detroit for the Ride/Charlatans show in February (to my great regret). Will definitely check them out online. Or I'll just come back this summer since my wife is from there :)

Great review. I had the older Quintet black and moved to the Sumiko Songbird on my Pro-Ject X2 I also have the bronze 2M Ortofon cart on my Clearaudio TT (all connected to a Gold Note PH-10 and PSU-10) While my next MM cart will be the black as that will be the 'end game for the MM TT) and I have only started the MC route I love the differences from MM to MC. My collection of vinyl has started all over again. Certain albums sound better on each.

I have a bronze on a direct drive table and a quintet black with the boron on a belt drive table. I have noticed the bronze does sound more lively than the quintet, but the quintet is a more balanced sound. I also have the same arm on both tables, VPI 3D 10” printed arm.

I’ve got one although broke the cantilever which is quite fragile and I was early into record care, fully my mistake and will never do it again. But ortofon do a repair deal where you can return the broken cartridge and they’ll give you a new one at 60% of the cost. Personally I think that’s very generous. Incredible cartridge

The stylus on my 2M Blue's getting a little past its prime, and I was toying with the idea of going for a 2M Bronze or MP-200 rather than a replacement stylus for my 2M Blue. Now you've got me curious about the Quintet line, especially since the Quintet Blue is only a little more than the 2M Bronze.

I love the LVB for its forward sound signature.

I'd like to have a Goldring Ethos-Ortofon Quintet Black S shootout even though the Ethos costs a bit more.

Nice review !! Curious, what turntable(s) and phono pre-amp(s) did you use for this evaluation ?

HI Chris, I have a Technics SL-1210g and I use the Ortofon bronze Cadenza. Would the Ortofon Quintet Black S suit my technics as well as the bronze cadenza. Love your reviews. Happy New Year from Dublin, Ireland...

The Quintet Black is a superb cartridge and an extraordinary value. It's 9/10ths of a Cadenza Black for about 1/3 the price. Its almost the same price as a 2M black but sounds a LOT better. Of course, its price doesn't include a pre or SUT so, if you don't have one, that's an additional outlay. BTW, Ortofon makes a few step up transformers. I have an ST70. IMO, an SUT sounds better than any preamp regardless of price, plus, its entirely passive. Finally, with any low output moving coil, cables are VERY important. No magic thousand dollar cables are necessary, but shielded (SPDIF) are basically a requirement. If not, your regular RCA's will pick up RF high frequency noise which is not much of a problem for MM cartridges but can be a problem for low output MC.

Too bad it's not the same as the old black quintet. It no longer has the boron cantilever.

Loved it until I heard the Cadenza Black. Now I just think that it is amazing for it’s price 😁

Chris are you still around?

Would like to enjoy more correct evaluations as yours ! Fully agree with the accent on .....................Harmo,ious ................;this quality is lacking with the majotity of today's hifi gear pushed over the edge of what's natural and hhyped as HIGH END...; Thank you for sharing and positioning yourself on the right side rather than the bright side !

So, is this a throw away cartridge when the stylus has exhausted its useful life?

This is just too much money!