The Arm/Cartridge Matching Myth


When I began my journey in high-end audio 36 years ago….no-one ever wrote about arm and cartridge matching nor tonearm resonant frequency…?
Over the last 10 years or so…this topic has become not only ubiquitous, but has mutated beyond its definition, to THE guiding principle of matching cartridge to tonearm….❓❗️😵
The Resonant Frequency can be calculated using a complex formula relating Tonearm Effective Mass to the cartridge’s Compliance….or it can be simply measured using a Test record of various frequency sweeps.
The RECOMMENDED Resonant Frequency of any tonearm/cartridge combination is between 8-12Hz.
But WHY is this the recommended frequency and WHAT does it really mean…?

The raison d’etre of this Resonant Frequency…is to avoid WARPED records inducing ‘resonance’ into the tonearm…..
Say what…❓😵
WARPED records….❓❗️
Yes…..ONLY warped records❗️😎
But doesn’t it have any meaning for NORMAL records…❓
None whatsoever…..😊👍
Let me explain….🎼

A badly warped record induces the tonearm to rise and fall rapidly on the ‘sprung’ cantilever of the cartridge.
Depending on the severity and frequency of this warping…..a subsonic frequency between 2-5Hz is induced so if your tonearm/cartridge Resonant Frequency dips into this frequency range….it will begin resonating and thus miss-track and/or induce hum through your system.🎤
Keeping the lower limits of your tonearm/cartridge Resonant Frequency to 8Hz simply insures against this possibility.🎶

So what about the 12Hz upper limit…❓
This simply insures against the possibility of any ultra low-level frequency information which MAY be on the record, also inducing this same miss-tracking or hum. For instance if your tonearm/cartridge Resonant Frequency was 18Hz and you had an organ record or one containing synthesised bass going down to 16Hz…..your tonearm may miss-track or you MAY develop a hum❓😢

So how many badly WARPED record do you possess…❓
I have three out of a thousand or so……and have NEVER experienced miss-tracking or hum even on these three…❗️😍

Yet these days….everyone (without exception it seems)…even tonearm and cartridge designers….happily follow the dictum of this Arm/Cartridge MATCH as if it affected sound quality…..❓
This Resonant Frequency has ZERO affect on the sound quality of a particular tonearm/cartridge combination and I have proved it hundreds of times with a dozen different arms and over 40 cartridges.

The best match for ANY cartridge ever made….is simply the very best tonearm you can afford…whatever its Effective Mass…😘
128x128halcro

Showing 2 responses by knownothing

What was the fairly purvasive "rumble filter" for on many pre amps, integrated and receivers from the phono dominated era? I have been concerned about this since I have a subwoofer that has no effective lower frequency cut off, volume just trails off gradually at lower frequencies. While this is an asset on digital recordings, The low frequency energy (sounds like a rumble) is so loud on certain records in my collection that it intrudes on the music. This occurs on warped albums and some other recordings with no obvious physical defect. No rumble filter on my current amp. Have been thinking that cartridge/arm matching may be more critically important in this case. Is dawn of more low frequency capable systems brought on by digital sources making this compliance issue more noticeable and problematic for analog reproduction?

kn
Just taking a shot in the (very) dark here, but isn't it likely that in practice it is the amplitude of the resulting resonances in the tone arm/cartridge/room/speaker system that are at least as critical as the resonant frequency itself? Such that the frequency range for various cartridge/arm combinations does not vary by that much, but the intensity of the response at the primary and harmonic frequencies can vary by a lot between various arm/cartridge combinations? The result being that theoretical and measured resonant frequencies look roughly the same for many combinations and nearly all within the "accepted" range. But in practice these resonant frequencies are actually excited by and interact with record grooves, room construction and sound fields from speakers such that the AMPLITUDE of the resonances of different cartridge and arm combinations in different listening environments can vary over a wide range, sometimes becoming problematic.

I don't even know enough about physics to get into real trouble, but the above is my very dumb way to try to summarize some elements of the discussion so far so that I can understand it. And it demonstrates to me why a better designed tone arm is highly desirable and can command a higher price, and perhaps why Halcro sees the whole problem as a myth. This coming from a bottom feeder who has only owned 7 turntables in five decades of listening, all cheap, used and/or free, and probably fewer cartidges over my listening life than Halcro has in his current collection, but I have run into this problem in a serious way at least twice.

kn