Dear Nandric: I suppose that I should contribute something to help keep your thread going.
Why don't I write a little about the Stax CP-X condenser cartridge, and add a few words about condenser cartridges in general?
Condenser cartridges possess certain clear advantages over their electromagnetic brethen, but there are also notable disadvantages (which I will discuss later).
Stax's CP-X cartridge is an RF modulation design, which has advantages even within the condenser cartridge family. Unlike electromagnetic cartridges that require the stylus to drag around a heavy magnet or coil, a big advantage of an RF condenser design is that the cantilever itself can made to serve as the electrode / sensing element. This translates into a very significant reduction in moving mass.
The condenser cartridge family also encompasses electrostatic and electret (made by Toshiba) types. With these types, a non-conductive charged diaphragm needs to be bonded to the cantilever, implying that there must be some additional moving mass, above and beyond the cantilever's own mass. Although this is a slight architectural disadvantage in comparison to RF condenser cartridges, the electrostatic / electret diaphragm can be a very thin sheet of electrically charged polymer, still with much lower mass than a magnet or coils.
Since an RF condenser design allows the cantilever itself to serve as the electrode / sensing element, the placement of the signal pickup point is quite free - it doesn't need to be some 5-7mm away from the stylus, back at the pivot. If the designer is able to package all of the cartridge components neatly enough, the signal pickup point can be located right on top of the stylus (it was for this reason that Stax's nickname for the CP-X was "Direct Pickup System"). The more the designer is able to concentrate the signal pickup point directly on top of the stylus, the more the cartridge's total sonic signature can be freed from the effects of cantilever flexure.
JVC's MC-L1000 was an MC cartridge that likewise managed to place the signal sensing coil right on top of the stylus, but the coil (although low mass) was a separate element from the cantilever. An RF modulation condenser cartridge can accomplish the signal pickup without anything other than the cantilever. Intellectually far more satisfying (grin).
Given Raul's fondness for MMs and MI cartridges, I've never understood his outspoken aversion to MC step-up transformers. True, a stepup transformer will increase the magnetic distortions of an MC cartridge, but the larger magnetic circuit of an MM or MI cartridge has the same effect. I don't see why one approach should be favored over the other.
Condenser cartridges are a different story, as they lack mechanisms that would allow magnetic distortion. Ergo, eddy currents and magnetic non-linearities cannot exist, thereby reducing distortion and improving transient performance.
Enough for today, I'll write more about condenser cartridges on another day.
kind regards, jonathan
Why don't I write a little about the Stax CP-X condenser cartridge, and add a few words about condenser cartridges in general?
Condenser cartridges possess certain clear advantages over their electromagnetic brethen, but there are also notable disadvantages (which I will discuss later).
Stax's CP-X cartridge is an RF modulation design, which has advantages even within the condenser cartridge family. Unlike electromagnetic cartridges that require the stylus to drag around a heavy magnet or coil, a big advantage of an RF condenser design is that the cantilever itself can made to serve as the electrode / sensing element. This translates into a very significant reduction in moving mass.
The condenser cartridge family also encompasses electrostatic and electret (made by Toshiba) types. With these types, a non-conductive charged diaphragm needs to be bonded to the cantilever, implying that there must be some additional moving mass, above and beyond the cantilever's own mass. Although this is a slight architectural disadvantage in comparison to RF condenser cartridges, the electrostatic / electret diaphragm can be a very thin sheet of electrically charged polymer, still with much lower mass than a magnet or coils.
Since an RF condenser design allows the cantilever itself to serve as the electrode / sensing element, the placement of the signal pickup point is quite free - it doesn't need to be some 5-7mm away from the stylus, back at the pivot. If the designer is able to package all of the cartridge components neatly enough, the signal pickup point can be located right on top of the stylus (it was for this reason that Stax's nickname for the CP-X was "Direct Pickup System"). The more the designer is able to concentrate the signal pickup point directly on top of the stylus, the more the cartridge's total sonic signature can be freed from the effects of cantilever flexure.
JVC's MC-L1000 was an MC cartridge that likewise managed to place the signal sensing coil right on top of the stylus, but the coil (although low mass) was a separate element from the cantilever. An RF modulation condenser cartridge can accomplish the signal pickup without anything other than the cantilever. Intellectually far more satisfying (grin).
Given Raul's fondness for MMs and MI cartridges, I've never understood his outspoken aversion to MC step-up transformers. True, a stepup transformer will increase the magnetic distortions of an MC cartridge, but the larger magnetic circuit of an MM or MI cartridge has the same effect. I don't see why one approach should be favored over the other.
Condenser cartridges are a different story, as they lack mechanisms that would allow magnetic distortion. Ergo, eddy currents and magnetic non-linearities cannot exist, thereby reducing distortion and improving transient performance.
Enough for today, I'll write more about condenser cartridges on another day.
kind regards, jonathan