Cartridges & Styluses

Cartridges and styluses are key components in a turntable-based audio system, responsible for converting the grooves on vinyl records into an electrical signal that can be amplified and played through speakers.

• The cartridge houses the stylus (needle) and contains the mechanism that converts the vibrations from the stylus into an electrical signal. There are two main types of cartridges: moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC), with MC cartridges generally offering higher sound quality but at a higher cost.
• The stylus is the needle that physically touches the vinyl record’s grooves. It vibrates as it moves along the grooves, with the vibrations being picked up by the cartridge and converted into an audio signal.

Together, the cartridge and stylus are crucial for accurate, high-quality sound reproduction from vinyl records.