Cartridge Experts

I have a theory. It seems to me that a shorter cantilever will cause the coils or magnets to move a larger distance than a longer cantilever. The effect of this would be a difference in output voltage.

When I got my Colibri back from vdh with a longer cantilever I had to turn up the gain alot to get the same output as before. I contacted them about it and was told they had not changed the coils and did not know why the output would be different. I asked if the longer cantilever had anything to do with it and the person (not vdh himself) I was in contact with did not think so. I asked about having higher output coils installed and was told around $800.00. This was sometime ago and I have still not done this.

your theory is strictly dependent on the "pivot" point for the cantilever. if the pivot point to the coil is the same and you increase the length from the pivot point to the stylus (ie needle point), then you are 100% correct.

That makes sense. In the case of the Colibri the coils are visible. I don't believe it is possible to changes the distance of the coils away or toward the pivot point. I could be wrong though.