Your thousand-dollar cartridge might be a dud and you wouldn’t even know it.
The warm, rich sound of vinyl records has long been celebrated by vinyl fans. However, an industry panel at High-End Munich 2024 revealed some hard truths about the equipment we rely on to produce that beloved analog sound.
The Hidden World of Cartridge Flaws
J.R. Boisclair of WallyTools, known for his precision cartridge analysis, shared the unsettling data.
“Of all the cartridges I analyze, one out of eight do not meet manufacturer specifications,” Boisclair stated.
Meaning, even those high-end cartridges we’ve invested thousands in might not be performing as advertised.
These issues aren’t always obvious.
Misaligned stylus profiles, which can result from manufacturing hiccups or shipping mishaps, might be quietly distorting our music and possibly damaging our vinyl.
Uneven suspension systems are another big issue.
Leif Johannsen from Ortofon, a major cartridge maker, stressed how important this part is.
The suspension in a cartridge works like a shock absorber, letting the stylus move freely while staying in the groove. So, when the suspension is too tight or too loose, it can’t react properly to the groove movements, leading to poor tracking and distorted sound.
But, Boisclair didn’t stop there. He also shared some eye-opening stats about Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA).
VTA is the angle at which the stylus sits in the groove. So, such a big difference can greatly change how accurate the cartridge gets information from the record.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Some manufacturers, like Ortofon, seem to be maintaining better quality control. But it does make you wonder about the consistency across the industry.
Tonearm Issues: More Than Meets the Eye
While cartridge flaws are a big problem, the experts were quick to point out that the tonearm, often overlooked, can cause even more playback issues.
For one, the panel revealed that tonearm problems often look like cartridge issues, leading to wrong diagnoses of sound quality problems.
It’s a bit like blaming the speaker for distortion when the real issue is in the amplifier.
Even minor changes in tonearm height can change sound, not through the commonly assumed VTA changes, but by affecting the tonearm’s vector forces.
The discussion got pretty technical, delving into pivot point placement and the intricacies of direct drive systems.
Mark Dohmann even compared proper tonearm movement to the precise technique of 3,000-meter race walkers:
The panel also touched on the importance of tonearm wiring.
Some of us might want to swap out stock wiring for something fancier, but Dohmann warned that this could cause new problems:
On a brighter note, there’s apparently a new tonearm design coming that might fix some of these basic issues.
Dohmann seemed pretty excited about it:
The Impact on Sound Quality
All these hidden flaws in our cartridges and tonearms aren’t just theory – they’re messing with our listening in ways we might not even notice.
“We’re actually dealing with a nanometer problem. Something that is so small we’re no longer at the thickness of a hair or a couple of thousandths of an inch that you can feel with a fingernail.” says Dohmann.
“We’re talking stuff that’s almost, well, you definitely can’t see it with a naked eye.”
We’re talking about details in the record groove as small as 20 nanometers affecting our sound quality.
Even something as small as record centering can have a big impact.
A quarter-millimeter off-center placement can cause noticeable issues. This affects not just pitch stability but also the cartridge’s ability to track the groove consistently.
And, when you add up all these tiny imperfections – from nanometer-scale issues to millimeter-level misalignments – you’re looking at possible loss of subtle musical details, uneven playback, and even more wear on your vinyl collection.
What Audiophiles Can Do
So, what’s a vinyl enthusiast to do with all this information? The panelists had some practical advice:
- Regular cartridge inspections and professional alignments
- Investing in high-quality measurement tools for DIY dans
- Paying close attention to tonearm setup, particularly anti-skating and azimuth adjustment
- Considering professional calibration services for high-end systems
Aside from these, Craig Milnes from Wilson-Benesch stressed the need for education.
He said it’s important to teach end users, retailers, and industry professionals about getting the best possible sound, suggesting that informed listeners can better tune their systems.
The experts also suggested using devices like the DS Audio for exact record centering.
They advised changing SRA (Stylus Rake Angle) and VTA at the headshell level rather than by adjusting tonearm height, which can cause other issues.
And, for those with high-end systems, there’s even talk of new technologies like automatic VTA adjustment, allowing fine-tuning from our listening chairs.