1. It's All About Vinyl
The Listening Suite celebrates 75 years of vinyl with our very own Hifiology Blog ‘It’s All About Vinyl’
Click on the links below to find out more about your Turntable, Tonearm, Cartridge & Stylus, The Settings and Phonostage.
Record Player, Record Deck, Turntable
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/record-player-record-deck-turntable/
Topics covered:
1. The Platter (Main Platter or Sub Platter)
2. Heavy or Light Platter on Heavy or Light Chassis
3. Suspended or Rigid Chassis Design
4. Platter Bearing, Platter Mats, Record Clamp or Weight, Outer Ring Clamps
5. Belt, Belt Drive / Direct Drive, Plinth Mounted Motor / Outboard Motor, The Plinth
6. Where to Place Your Turntable
The Stylus - Shapes, Types
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-stylus-shapes-types/
Topics covered:
1. Why are some Styli & Cartridges more expensive than others ?
2. Shapes & Types, Conical / Spherical, Elliptical / Hyperelliptical Bi or Dual Radial
3. Advanced Stylus Shapes, Line Contact, Fine Line, Micro-Line, Micro-Ridge, Shibata, Stereohedron
4. Reasons for Investing and Upgrading your Cartridge and Stylus
5. The Vinyl Groove, The Cutting Engineer, RIAA Equalisation Curve
The Stylus - Needle in the Groove
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-stylus-needle-in-the-groove/
Topics covered:
Stylus alignment settings
1. Zenith
2. Azimuth
3. SRA / VTA
4. VTF
5. Antiskating / Bias
The Cartridge - Moving Magnet or Coil
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-cartridge-moving-magnet-or-coil/
1. How a cartridge operates
2. The Moving Magnet & Moving Coil Cartridge
3. Moving Magnet & Moving Coil Designs
4. There are three types of Moving Coil Cartridges, Low, Medium, High output
The Cartridge - The Assembly
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-cartridge-the-assembly/
Topics covered:
An electromagnetic generator otherwise known as a cartridge, can be divided into 4 separate sections.
(1) Physical - Cartridge Body, Cartridge Weight, Cartridge Size
(2) Mechanical - Stylus Type, Stylus Radius, Cantilever Material, Tracking Force, Tracking Ability, Compliance,
Resonant Frequency, Desired Resonant Frequency
(3) Electrical - Cartridge Type, Cartridge Output Voltage, Cartridge Output Impedance,
Phono Stage Load Impedance / Resistance and Capacitance
(4) Audio - Frequency Response, Channel Balance, Channel Separation
The Tonearm - Shapes & Sizes
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-tonearm-shapes-sizes/
Topics covered:
Tonearm Sections
(1) The cartridge mounting point or head shell position.
(2) The arm or wand.
(3) Tonearm Bearing or Unipivot point.
(4) Counter weight.
Tonearm Designs: 9” 10” 12” I, J or S type
Tonearm Bearing Designs, Parallel, Gimbal - Ball, Knife and Jewelled, UniPivot, Magnetic
The Tonearm - Geometry & terms
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-tonearm-geometry-terms/
Topics covered:
1. Cartridge & Stylus Alignment, Tangential or Zero Tracking Error, Geometrical Arcs
2. Löfgren A/B - Baerwald - Stevenson Inner & Outer Null Points
3. Pivot to Spindle Distance, Effective Length, Overhang
4. Zenith Offset Angle, Linear Offset, Inner & Outer Groove Radius
The Phonostage
https://www.thelisteningsuite.ie/the-phono-stage/
Topics covered:
1. The Vinyl Groove, The Cutting Engineer and the RIAA Pre-Emphasis Equalisation Curve
2. The Equaliser Section and the RIAA De-Emphasis Playback Equalisation Curve
3. Line Amplifier Section and Electrical Specifications
4. Input Settings for a Moving Magnet & Moving Coil Cartridge,
5. Impedance / Resistance, Capacitance & Gain Settings, Adjusting The Settings
6. Room Acoustics and how they effect your choice of settings
7. Low and Medium Output Moving Coil Cartridges & Step-Up Transformers
8. Why use a Step-Up Transformer