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What Does a Cartridge Compliance/Tonearm Mass Mismatch Sound Like?

OK, analogue experts....what would it look/sound like if your set up included a cartridge whose compliance is not well matched with the tonearm it is mated to?
dodgealum
cleeds
6,272 posts
 
The stylus may leap out of the groove, and visible pumping of the woofers is also common.
tomwh
150 posts
 
OK  I will bite how does the weight /torque / horse power car example have to do with compliance of a cart and the weight of tonearm?
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,531 posts
 
Tom...even though the weight of that truck engine can be carried with my Porsche example....can you imagine how awful the suspension is able to respond to the bumps and curves in the road....
paul79
174 posts
 
My experience with this is that everything just sounds wrong and or lost.
moonglum
619 posts
 

Dodge..

With induced resonance you won't just *hear it* you will actually *see it* (the tonearm will appear to be alive, depending on the speed of the warps etc...).

Another observation is that the sound can exhibit "phase-y" behaviour i.e. a centre vocal, instead of being stable and centred, can appear to split into 2 separate voices one in each channel!

(...and, as has been pointed out, things can get even more violent)

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