Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Cartridges,needles, pickups, and stylii

One and the same. In case I haven't completely bored you with analog discussions, now I will get into the heart of the matter (literally). The cartridge being the first link in the analog chain, directly responsible for picking off the music from the record. First I will discuss the various types, then show examples of each. You have an old Pioneer table in the closet with a busted needle? You can spend anywhere from about $30. to several thousand on a new cartridge to get it working again. The simplest difference, since the '50s, has been between magnetic and ceramic cartridges. If you have a console or compact stereo, chances are good it will have a ceramic (or crystal) cartridge. This is most easily identified by the "flip over needle", 78 on one side and 33 or LP on the other. The ceramic generally doesn't require RIAA equalization, is typically very low quality with very high tracking weights,and will not be discussed in depth here.

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