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The Arm/Cartridge Matching Myth

When I began my journey in high-end audio 36 years ago….no-one ever wrote about arm and cartridge matching nor tonearm resonant frequency…?
Over the last 10 years or so…this topic has become not only ubiquitous, but has mutated beyond its definition, to THE guiding principle of matching cartridge to tonearm….❓❗️😵
The Resonant Frequency can be calculated using a complex formula relating Tonearm Effective Mass to the cartridge’s Compliance….or it can be simply measured using a Test record of various frequency sweeps.
The RECOMMENDED Resonant Frequency of any tonearm/cartridge combination is between 8-12Hz.
But WHY is this the recommended frequency and WHAT does it really mean…?

The raison d’etre of this Resonant Frequency…is to avoid WARPED records inducing ‘resonance’ into the tonearm…..
Say what…❓😵
WARPED records….❓❗️
Yes…..ONLY warped records❗️😎
But doesn’t it have any meaning for NORMAL records…❓
None whatsoever…..😊👍
Let me explain….🎼

A badly warped record induces the tonearm to rise and fall rapidly on the ‘sprung’ cantilever of the cartridge.
Depending on the severity and frequency of this warping…..a subsonic frequency between 2-5Hz is induced so if your tonearm/cartridge Resonant Frequency dips into this frequency range….it will begin resonating and thus miss-track and/or induce hum through your system.🎤
Keeping the lower limits of your tonearm/cartridge Resonant Frequency to 8Hz simply insures against this possibility.🎶

So what about the 12Hz upper limit…❓
This simply insures against the possibility of any ultra low-level frequency information which MAY be on the record, also inducing this same miss-tracking or hum. For instance if your tonearm/cartridge Resonant Frequency was 18Hz and you had an organ record or one containing synthesised bass going down to 16Hz…..your tonearm may miss-track or you MAY develop a hum❓😢

So how many badly WARPED record do you possess…❓
I have three out of a thousand or so……and have NEVER experienced miss-tracking or hum even on these three…❗️😍

Yet these days….everyone (without exception it seems)…even tonearm and cartridge designers….happily follow the dictum of this Arm/Cartridge MATCH as if it affected sound quality…..❓
This Resonant Frequency has ZERO affect on the sound quality of a particular tonearm/cartridge combination and I have proved it hundreds of times with a dozen different arms and over 40 cartridges.

The best match for ANY cartridge ever made….is simply the very best tonearm you can afford…whatever its Effective Mass…😘
halcro
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
+1 Lewm

I remember Chakster commenting on my usage of a Denon 103 on an Infinity Black Widow and not truly believing my statement that it sounded quite acceptable even though common "myth" would have you believe it is wrong.

Always believed in trying it and see what happens rather than stick to all the "golden rules"
lewm
13,536 posts
 
I just want to be careful to point out that I am not even necessarily advocating breaking any rules (although I do it myself).  I am pointing out that what may SEEM to be in violation of the Fr rule (range of 8 to 12Hz) may not in fact be a violation, for one's own particular pairing of tonearm and cartridge.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@uberwaltz

You’re extremist, lol
The mass of Black Widow tonearm is less than 5g as far as i know.
I would never do that myself, i’d rather put a cartridge with compliance figure 4 times higher than 8cu. I think this arm designed for very high compliance cartridges (30-50cu)

But it’s good that we have you, so you can tell us more about your experiment to support halcro’s theory.


If you assume about 10g for the mass of the cartridge and plug those data into the equation, the tonearm with 30g effective mass yields Fr = 9.06Hz. For the tonearm with 13g effective mass, Fr = ~12Hz. Both of these results fall into the category of "acceptable".

@lewm What if the mass of the arm is less than 5g ?

Personally, i have no reason to use low compliance cartridges on light mass tonearms, but i did it on Technics, i think that an improvement on heavy "12 inch Schick was obvious, at least for me.

But i tried high-ish compliance cartridges (30cu) on 20g tonearm and it was OK, but it wasn’t my favorite combination (or not my favorite cartridge). Normally i am following the golden rules with my cartridges and tonearms.

P.S. I can remember only one problematic sample of low compliance cartridge that miss track on properly matched tonearm. It was Ortofon SPU cartridge on Schick. I returned the cartridge to the seller, because it wasn't the arm or setting problem. Clearly factory defect.  




noromance's avatar
noromance
10,074 posts
 
@rauliruegas My jury is out on this one as I don't have the experience to comment on this subject. I've only ever had a few arms. However, I have heard many of his recordings and have no evidence to go by that there was any major issues inherent in their playback. 
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
And here we are discussing what is wrong not what we like. Got it?


Yes, of course. Got it minimum 15 years ago.
Did you improve your knowledge in the years, too? You had enough time to develop your Tonearm you wanted to produce since 10 years. Any news for the mass of Audiophiles who are forced to listen to distortion instead of music?

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