+1 londondecca very very musical and “live”
but the arm has to match it for sure. I found that out the hard way lol
What innovative, unconventional cartridge designs can you recommend?
Most cartridges have a stylus and cantilever where the transducer (magnet, iron or coil) sits on the far end of the cantilever. What other designs are there?
I am mindful of two designs which put the business end right on top of the stylus. The first is the moving coil (MC) Audio Technica AT-ART1000 which places two tiny coils, each 0.9-mm diameter, with eight turns of wire directly above the stylus. Australian price is about AUD-7000 and there apparently is a newer model, slightly less exxe. the ART1000X. This has square coils for a bit more output, and threaded mounting holes.
A downside is that stylus replacement involves a factory maintenance program and the Australian website page describing this service does not exist.
Another design is optical, exemplified by DS Audio's range. While these still need a stylus to trace the groove, the signal is produced by reading the intensity of light produced by a Light Emitting Diode (LED) hitting two sensors. Between the LED and the sensors are two 'shades' mounted above the stylus which change the amount of light as the stylus vibrates. These cartridges need a special "photo-stage" to replace the conventional phono-stage which is an additional expense.
Australian prices including photo-stages range from AUD-2,150 for the DS-E1 to the DS Master 3 at approximately AUD-40,800, which is a bit outside my price range! Where is the sweet spot?
What other way-out designs are there?
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faustuss I often try and give my source of info AI can be amazing, it all seemed good, so I posted it. however mistakes can be made, and the possibility of quoting a mistake as FACT, and the potential of a mistake being found and quoted for ever is what I want to avoid, thus I wanted people to know it was AI sourced, and I advise restrained trust. .................................................... from a current discussion about Holbo frazeur1@richardbrand Yes often I see review specs that are questionable, almost like one review got it wrong and others are just copy/paste from wrong info. I try to just use manufactures spec as much as possible, not that they can’t be occasionally wrong as well! |
richardbrand OP excerpt from Sumiko "(2.5mV is typical for a high output moving coil cartridge, 4-5mV is typical for a moving magnet cartridge)." https://sumikophonocartridges.com/high-output-mc-cartridge/
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The G’s is totally a function of the frequency being produced and the modulation and there is a calculation for it - read this article - Dr. A. M. Max, Disc Phonograph Records, Max, RCA Engineer Magazine 1966-08-09 1966-08-09.pdf which also calculates the force from a spherical stylus of different dimensions and different VTF, and the "calculated" forces at 2.5-gm VTF can range from 65,800-psi to 121,300-psi. However, the G-forces developed have only a minor impact and it’s because of the very low effective tip mass with modern cartridges being very low Effective Tip Mass | myhi.fi. Note that the record does deform under the forces of the stylus, but provided the forces remain in the ’elastic’ region, no permanent deformation occurs. However, if the stylus mass is too high (generally considered >5-gm), then the forces exceed the elastic region and ’plastic’ deformation can occur. The Dr. Max article addresses the elasticity of the record with greater detail in this article - Groove Deformation in Gramophone Records. FWIW, on a different but related to records, this very recent article 2023, is excellent on the subject of tracing distortion Tracing Distortion on Vinyl LPs Take care, Neil |
Agree that the highest G-forces are only generated where the acceleration of the stylus is at its maximum. Since a long ton is 2240-lbs (and is close to a metric tonne but about 10% more than a short ton of 2000-lbs) we can divide 65,800 and 121,300 by 2240 to get about 29 and 54 ton per sq inch. This is beyond the breaking strength of mild steel and way higher than my calculations for a line contact stylus. Something has to give, and what gives is the vinyl! It deforms elastically around a conical stylus, increasing the contact area and reducing the pressure. I recall advice that the same side should not be played immediately in order to give the vinyl time to recover its original shape. |
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