Understanding Cartridge specs.

[Meloski]

Please help me understand this compliance number spec. for a DL-103R

Compliance: 5x10-6cm/dyne

With regards to compliance I understand a 10 is low whereas 30 would be high. But what does the above number mean?

Also when comparing cartridges what other specs should I concern myself with?

 

[gusten]

Please help me understand this compliance number spec. for a DL-103R

Compliance: 5x10-6cm/dyne

With regards to compliance I understand a 10 is low whereas 30 would be high. But what does the above number mean?

Also when comparing cartridges what other specs should I concern myself with?

The number comes from tracking a sine at 100Hz with a certain amplitude at lowest possible VTF.

Besides that 5 is a low number that means one has to use a higher VTF than on a high number. If one should calculate the res freq one must convert this number to be valid at about 10Hz, which normally is about times 2 this value.

 

[ETI_5000]

Also when comparing cartridges what other specs should I concern myself with?

One useful cartridge specification is frequency response – look for a wide frequency response of more than the average young human audible limits (20Hz-20kHz), preferably within tight limits (say ±2dB for excellent cartridges).

Another useful specification that affects how a cartridge sounds is stereo separation between channels – more is better, although it varies with frequency, and falls away at very high or low frequencies. Here are some typical separation specs for various qualities of cartridge, with the midrange frequency of 1kHz being the most often specified:

Excellent: 30dB @1kHz, 20dB @10kHz
Good: 25dB @1kHz, 15dB @10kHz
Average: 20dB@1kHz, 10dB @10kHz