At last a moving coil cartridge you can to your best friend!
New AT30E Stereo Phono Cartridge with Vector-Aligned, Dual Moving MicroCoils and user-replaceable Stylus.
The subtle, yet unique characteristics of moving coil cartridges have had their admirers for years. A top-quality moving coil cartridge exhibits remarkable sonic clarity and transparency. This performance can be attributed to the very low mass, and low inductance of the tiny coils used to sense the stylus motion.
But until now, moving coil cartridge popularity has been limited by three major problems which seemed almost inherent to moving coil designs.
1) It seemed impossible to make a user-replaceable stylus assembly without com promising performance; 2) most moving coil cartridges exhibited relatively low tracking ability due to rather stiff cantilever mounting systems; and 3) output of the cartridge was below the level needed for commonly avail able amplifier inputs.
Introducing the new Audio-Technica AT30E and the end to all three problems! Our design approach is simple and direct. Rather than locate the coils in the cartridge body, they are integral with the stylus assembly. If the stylus be comes worn or damaged, the entire moving system, coils and all, is simply unplugged and replaced, just like a moving magnet cartridge. Large, gold-plated connectors insure loss-free connections so vital at the low voltages generated by a good moving coil cartridge. The result is easy field replacement with no penalty in terms of performance.
Careful research indicated that good tracking and moving coil design were indeed compatible. By controlling effective mass and utilizing a radial damping system similar to our famed Dual Magnet cartridges, we have achieved excellent tracking ability throughout the audio range. Compliance is individually controlled during manufacture of each assembly to optimize performance.
This extra step, impossible with most other designs, coupled with our unique radial damping ring, insures excellent tracking of the high-energy modulation found in many of the top-quality recordings now available.
Each coil is located in the ideal geometric relationship to reproduce "its" side of the record groove. This Vector-Aligned design assures excellent stereo separation, minimum moving mass, and the highest possible efficiency. It's a design concept which is exclusive to Audio-Technica, and is a major contributor to the outstanding performance of the AT30E.
We can't take credit for solving the low output problem. The AT30E output is similar to many other fine moving coil cartridges.
But an increasing number of amplifiers and receivers are featuring built-in "pre-preamplifiers" or "head amplifiers" to accommodate moving coil cartridges directly. Thus the new systems buyer can make a cartridge choice based on sonic characteristics rather than on input compatibility.
In addition, Audio-Technica offers the Model AT630 Transformer for matching to conventional amplifier inputs.
The new Audio-Technica AT30E Dual Moving Micro-Coil Stereo Phono Cartridge. With the introduction of this remarkable new de sign, every important barrier to full enjoyment of the moving coil listening experience has been removed. Progress in sound reproduction from Audio-Technica... a leader in advanced technology.
(Source: Audio magazine, Sept. 1979)
Also see:
Audio-Technica AT25 stereo phono cartridge (May 1979)
Audio-Technica AT15Sa cartridge (Feb. 1977)
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