THE POWER OF VINYL!

The Joy of Vinyl
"Cartridge Resonance
Calculator"

Why does this matter? Every turntable tonearm and cartridge combination has a natural "resonant frequency"—a specific pitch where they vibrate together most intensely. This is pure physics; everything that has mass and hangs on a spring (your stylus suspension) has a resonant frequency.

The goal is to "tune" this frequency so it lands in a safe zone (ideally 8Hz – 12Hz).

  • Too Low (< 7Hz): The system becomes sensitive to subsonic rumbles, footfalls, and record warps.
  • Too High (> 13Hz): The resonance creeps up into the audible range, potentially muddying your bass or causing tracking errors on deep notes.

A Note on Specs: To get an accurate result, you need two numbers:

  1. Total Effective Mass: This is usually provided by your tonearm manufacturer. Important: You must add the weight of your cartridge and mounting screws (usually ~0.5g) to the tonearm's mass.
  2. Compliance: This is the "springiness" of the cartridge, provided by the cartridge manufacturer.

Cartridge Resonance Calculator

JAPANESE TO EUROPEAN CONVERTER
Enter 100Hz spec
→
Result (approx)
Don't forget to add screw weight (~0.5g)