[X4U] phono to CD

[Crandon David]

Thanks for the education David. It was very interesting.

I've never used a ceramic cartridge before, or actually, maybe I have. 
Aren't those the type of cartridges used in "all in one" record players 
like I had as a kid and like the kind used in schools in the 60's and 
70's?

David


On Oct 30, 2004, at 12:18 AM, David Ledger wrote:

>> From: Crandon David <tabdave at comcast.net>
>>
>> Hmmm....you're going to have to refresh my memory here. What I 
>> remember
>> is that a ceramic cartridge has much higher output voltage than the
>> usual MM (moving magnet) cartridges, so a preamp isn't necessary, but
>> the RIAA Eq curve is a function of the pressing of the record, and is
>> independent of the type of cartridge, whether it's MM, Ceramic or MC
>> (moving coil).
>
> Magnetic cartridges produce output where the instantaneous voltage is 
> proportional to the instantaneous lateral velocity.  This means that 
> low notes produce much smaller output than high notes.  RIAA Eq was 
> introduced so that there don't have to be larger stylus swings for the 
> low note components which would increase the groove spiral pitch and 
> shorten the playing time.
>
> Ceramic (and crystal) cartridges produce output proportional to the 
> displacement of the stylus and so is pretty well frequency 
> independent.  It turns out that the output from a ceramic cartridge is 
> fairly close to what is required.  If you apply RIAA to it, the sound 
> will be wrong.  You could say that the workings of a ceramic cartridge 
> gives it a roughly RIAA response naturally.
>
> Ceramic cartridges are piezo-electric and do give much higher outputs 
> than magnetic.  Magnetic devices rely on movement; piezo ones on 
> force.  With magnetic, the small wiggles in the groove give a small 
> output; with ceramic, the force due to the wiggles depends on the 
> stiffness of the coupling between the stylus tip and the 
> piezo-electric elements.  Magnetic stylus couplings are floppy, 
> ceramic ones are stiff.  This stiffness also means that ceramic 
> cartridges cause more record wear and don't follow the groove as 
> cleanly.
>
> David
>
>
> -- 
> David Ledger - Freelance Unix Sysadmin in the UK.
> Chair of HPUX SysAdmin SIG of hpUG technical user group 
> (www.hpug.org.uk)
> dledger at ivdcs.co.uk
> www.ivdcs.co.uk
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