Cartridge-making dictionary Audio‑Technica’s guide to cartridge-making terminology
33 rpm 33 rpm very often denotes 12” LP Vinyl records (1949- Today), that should be played at a speed of 33 1/3 rpm. Rpm stands for Rotation Per Minute. 45 rpm 45 rpm very often denotes 7” Vinyl records (1949-Today), that should be played at a speed of 45 rpm. Rpm stands for Rotation Per Minute. 78 rpm 78 rpm very often denotes 10” Shellac SP Gramophone records (1925-1950), that should be played at a speed of 78 rpm. Rpm stands for Rotation Per Minute. Anti-skating When the record is in play, the friction between the stylus in the groove of the record and the length of the arm (the distance between the tip and the arm bearing) creates a force that pushes the cartridge toward the centre of the disk. Anti-skating creates a force that pulls the arm towards the outer edge of the disc to compensate it. Because records don’t have a constant amplitude, a static compensation will never totally cure the problem. It is a matter of balance. Badly set anti- skating will produce channel balance and distortion issues. When the anti-skating is set too high, the left channel will distort during loud passages, while on the other side if it’s too low, the right channel will distort. Also the amount of anti-skating depends on the shape of the tip. Conical stylus tends to require more anti-skating (due to the amount of friction generated by their shape) than more complex shapes (Line Contact or Microlinear). Azimuth (see also Tilt) For magnetic tape drives, azimuth refers to the angle between the tape head and magnetic tape. For phono cartridges, Azimuth is the angle between the surface of the record and the vertical axis of the cartridge. Note the difference between cartridge removable head shells: some models such as the “TechniHard Series” feature an “azimuth” adjustment. This feature is particularly useful when it is not provided by the tonearm itself.
Tip, Stylus Cantilever, and Stylus Suspension. The cantilever is a tiny suspended “arm” (solid or pipe) that holds the Diamond Tip on one end and transfers the vibrations to the other end where the Magnets (in case of MM cartridges) or the Coils (in case of MC cartridges) are housed. Different materials are used to make a cantilever: Aluminium, Saphyr, Beryllium, Boron... The lighter and stiffer being the best. Cartridge (Phono Magnetic Cartridge) The phono cartridge is the transducer used for the playback of gramophone records. The phono cartridge converts the mechanical energy (vibrations) from a stylus riding in a record groove into an electrical signal that will be amplified then processed, recorded, or played through a sound system. Channel Balance The channel balance of a cartridge is the ability of the transducer to reproduce left and right channels in the same manner. Channel balance should be part of the cartridge specifications, it expresses the possible output difference in dB from one channel to another. A cartridge with ideal channel balance will playback any mono signal with equal level in both channels. The channel balance will be 0dB. The ratio of the signals between the two channels is specified in dB. Channel imbalance can result in several factors independent from the cartridge itself: mechanical factors include incorrect azimuth settings, misalignment of the tonearm and/or of the cartridge on the headshell, and/or improper anti-skating adjustment. Other Channel imbalance issues, independent from the cartridge or the turntable, could include mismatched cables, electronic elements such as stereo preamplifiers, speaker system, speaker positioning and/or room acoustics. Channel Separation The channel separation of a cartridge is the ability of the transducer to deliver only signal on the left channel of the cartridge, and nothing on the right channel when there is only signal on the left channel groove,and vice versa. Channel separation is frequency dependent. Audio‑Technica indicate in the specifications the channel separation, specified at 1kHz. For high-end cartridges, Audio‑Technica provides channel separation curves, showing the separation in dB from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. A high channel separation provides a better stereo image. Compliance Compliance is the inverse of stiffness. Every cartridge works as a suspension, a high compliance cartridge will be suited for a low mass tonearm and a low compliance (stiffer) cartridge will be suited for a high mass tonearm. There is not a perfect compliance number, the cartridge compliance together with the effective mass of the tonearm/cartridge combination determine the tonearm’s fundamental resonance. For optimal results the frequency should be maintained between 9-13Hz.
of the cartridge. The four wires are colour-coded and generally labeled as follows : Left Channel: White Left Channel Ground: Blue Right Channel: Red Right Channel Ground: Green
Conical
(form factor of the diamond stylus) Also called spherical, because of the shape of the tip of the cone. Conical shaped stylus are simple to produce, therefore it becomes the most popular when economy is a factor.
Counterweight (Tonearm Counterweight)
Arm rest
Quad lead wires
Anti-skating device
Headshell
Tonearm base
Arm rest
Tracking force fine adjustment weight
Tonearm counter weight
Dual Moving Magnet cartridge Audio‑Technica’s Vertical Dual Magnet phono cartridge, unlike conventional cartridges, use the 90° V-Shape of the cutter head. The standard cutter head (used to record the vinyl master) uses two transducer coils, mounted perpendicular to each other at 45° from horizontal, to cut the channel: one in each wall of the 90° record groove. This way, the cartridge achieves accurate tracking, excellent channel separation, high definition of the stereo image and extreme clarity over the entire audio spectrum.
Elliptical
(form factor of the diamond stylus) An Elliptical stylus is produced starting from a Conical Stylus, then two cuts are made in order to make the vertical contact longer and the front to back contact narrower.
Bonded diamond
Bonded diamond refers to a stylus where the diamond tip is glued on a metal shank that is itself glued into the hole of the cantilever. This construction may increase the mass of the overall tip and affect transient repro duction compared with nude styli that are preferred and used on higher-priced models. Boron (boron cantilever) Boron is a chemical element from the metalloid family, extracted from Borax and Kernite. Its atomic number is 5. Boron is used for high-end cantilevers due to its lightweight and high-rigidity properties. It reaches a score of 9.5 on the Mohs hardness scale (for reference Diamond scores 10 and Aluminium 3).
The elliptical tip follows the groove modulation with more precision than a conical tip, improving frequency response, phase response, and lowering distortion, specifically in the inner turns of the record. Frequency Response Frequency response is the quantitative measure of the output spectrum of the cartridge in response to the stimulus of the record groove modulation. It is a measure of the magnitude for the output as a function of frequency; typically measured in decibels (dB). In the case of cartridge measurement, the input signal will be a constant-amplitude pure tone through the bandwidth provided by a reference record. Impedance The impedance is a measure of the total opposition that a circuit presents to alternate electric current. The output impedance of an electronic device is the impedance of its internal circuit “seen” by any device connected to its output. The Input impedance of an electronic device is the impedance “seen” by any source connected at its input. Input impedance of the phono preamplifier and output impedance of the cartridge should be properly matched to achieve optimal sound. An impedance mismatch will
Connecting (the phono cartridge)
Cantilever (stylus cantilever)
Cantilever
To install a Phono cartridge, connect the four wires of the cartridge headshell to the correct terminals on the back
Styli are principally made of three components: Stylus
60 - Audio-Technica Phono Cartridges Guide 2025
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