The phonograph record is a mechanical replica of musical performance. The job of the phono cartridge is to convert complex undulations of the record groove into an electrical signal.
Here's how the different kinds of phono cartridges compare in function. performance and manufacture. This chart has been prepared to help you make the appropriate choice for your budget and music system. The information encompasses the range of performance characteristics for each type of cartridge. Data' is compiled from manufacturers' literature and the results obtained at Micro -Acoustics cartridge clinics held throughout the U.S.A.
Operation Principle
Stylus bar moved by record groove under heavy tracking pressure (3-8 grams). Bar's motion bends crystal element causing output signal.
Stylus bar moved by record groove. Magnet armature vibrates between pole pieces, causing change in flux, and inducing signal in output coil.
Stylus bar moved by record groove. Iron armature vibrates between pole pieces, changing reluctance of magnetic path, and inducing signal in output coil.
Stylus bar moved by record groove. As coil vibrates through magnetic field, signal is induced in coil and fed to step-up transformer or pre-preamp.
Stylus bar moved by record groove. Stylus bar vibrates electrets through resolver and pivots, producing signal which is fed to microcircuit.
ma -- Micro-Acoustics
8 Westchester Plaza, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523, USA
(Source: Audio magazine, Sept. 1978)
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