Is a good Cermic Cartridge an Oxymoron?

Zaikesman...Alright already! Back on 4/17 my posting was all wet. My relative ignorance about ceramic cartridges proves I am a real audiophile.

"...my posting was all wet." Now there's a colloquialism that's a little before my time! :-)

Yes. A strain gauge would work. The original Weathers variable-capacitor stereo pickup system was described as a strain gauge.

Richard

Mario_b

The Micro Acoustics 830CSA wasn't Ceramic. It used capacitive elements charged by electrets (the electrostatic equivalent of permanent magnets - they hold a permanent charge. As the stylus moved one plate of a capacitor formed using the electret as the other plate, the changing capacitance with a constant charge created a voltage proportional to the movement.

This is the same principle used by high quality condenser studio mikes, though most of thee use fixed power supplies instead of electrets.

STAX also had a line of capacitive cartridges back in the 80's that I couldn't afford.

There was also at least one strain guage cartridge on the market in the early 80's as well. It too was a high priced limited availability item.

The ceramic cartride was very common in cheap department store stereos. I had one in my beadroom in 1970 and listened to lots of Led Zeppelin, Cream, King Crimson, and other new-at-the-time music.

I'm heartsick right now. I recently mounted my old Micro-Acoustic 830 CSA mounted on an Oracle Paris table in a PT6 arm, and it was sounding great. It only had about 50 hours on it. I went to dust the table and ripped the stylus cantilever off the cartridge with my polishing cloth. I didn't buy a replacement stylus in the 80's when I could, and there are none in sight now......

Tea and sympathy for Ghostrider45 -- no good deed goes unpunished, does it? : (