Comparison Technics SL-100C vs Technics SL-1500C

Model of the pickup (cartridge) supplied with the player. The pickup is one of the most important parts of any vinyl player, the quality of the received sound largely depends on its quality. Knowing the name of the model, you can find detailed data on it and determine how satisfied you are with this particular cartridge.

The shape of the needle in the pickup (cartridge) that the player is equipped with.

— Conical. It may also be called spherical. The simplest type of needles for vinyl players. Such needles are inexpensive, but the sound quality when using them is relatively low — due to the fact that the shape of the needle rather weakly matches the shape of the groove on the record.

— Elliptical. Elliptical needles have a narrower shape than conical (spherical) needles, which improves contact and allows, in particular, more accurate reproduction of high frequencies, and also reduces record wear. Due to the good value for money, this option is very popular.

— Linear. The most advanced variety: sharply sharpened needles of complex shape, following the contours of the grooves on the plate as accurately as possible and having the largest contact area among all types. The downside of this is the complexity in production and, accordingly, the high cost.

The signal level at the output of the pickup supplied with the player is, in fact, the power of the signal coming from the pickup to the phono stage. This parameter is necessary, first of all, in cases where the player is planned to be connected to an external phono stage: such equipment must be designed for the corresponding power of the signal coming from the pickup.

The force of pressing the needle on the plate, which the complete pickup (cartridge) is designed for.

This force depends on the rigidity (compliance) of the needle: the greater the clamping force, the harder the cartridge, respectively, the less pliable it is. It is also believed that less pressing force wears out the record less, but it cannot be said that "light" cartridges are definitely better — there are many other nuances. So in fact, information about the pressing force of a complete pickup is needed mainly in case of its replacement. Usually, the pressing force provided by the arm of the turntable is regulated within these limits, so the new cartridge must also be rated for the same values of downforce — otherwise there is a chance that the turntable will not be able to correctly align.

The weight of the pickup (cartridge) supplied with the turntable.

The weight of the cartridge determines the characteristics of balancing the tonearm to set the optimal tracking force. However, pickups in set are usually optimally compatible with the corresponding tonearms, so there are no problems with adjusting the turntable. But when buying a replacement cartridge, you should pay attention to this parameter: it is advisable that the new cartridge does not differ too much in weight from the old one, otherwise the tonearm adjustment range may not be enough for the correct balance.

A phono corrector is a specially designed preamplifier used when working with vinyl record pickups. Initially, the sound on such records is recorded with distortion of the amplitude-frequency characteristic, namely with an increase in volume from low to high frequencies; this is due to the technical features of the recording process. Accordingly, the phono corrector not only amplifies the signal to a level sufficient for feeding to the power amplifier, but also corrects the amplitude-frequency characteristic, “pulling out” the bass and reducing the volume of the HF. And the built-in phono corrector allows you to connect the player to the power amplifier directly, without using intermediate equipment. True, in terms of characteristics, built-in preamplifiers-correctors are inferior to external ones. Therefore, some models with this function may provide a “bypass” mode, allowing you to pass the signal bypassing the built-in phono corrector to an external, more advanced one. And there are also vinyl players without a phono corrector at all.

The material used for the base of the turntable - or, as it is also called, the support table.

The base is actually the body of the turntable; the tonearm, platter and drive are mounted on top of it. Note that a set of modern turntables can include both a base and a base with a tonearm, and the most extensive option, called a complete set, also includes a pickup. As for the materials for the base, they must meet specific requirements - in particular, they must be quite heavy to reduce extraneous vibrations transmitted to the device. Here are the most common materials:

- Plastic. The main and, in the case of vinyl players, practically the only advantage of plastic is ease of production and, accordingly, low cost. At the same time, the performance characteristics of such material are quite modest, so it is the prerogative of inexpensive “turntables”.

— Acrylic. Technically, acrylic is a type of plastic described on top, but in general this material is much more advanced in performance characteristics, is relatively inexpensive and can have an original appearance (in particular, it can be made transparent). Acrylic tables are typical for fairly solid models.

- Aluminum. Metal bases made of aluminum are massive and highly durable, b...ut they are not cheap, and therefore are found mainly in premium players.

— MDF/Fibreboard. Fiberboards, in addition to good acoustic characteristics, are notable for their pleasant appearance, especially suitable for retro-style devices. This material can be used in quite expensive models.

- Carbon. High-quality material, characterized by high strength and quite stylish appearance. On the other hand, it has a relatively low weight, which has to be compensated by the significant thickness of such bases, and this affects the cost (despite the fact that the material itself is not cheap anyway). Therefore, carbon has not gained much popularity.

- Granite. Natural granite is very heavy and dampens vibrations well, but it is also a very expensive material. It is used extremely rarely, mainly in premium players, not only for the sake of practical characteristics, but also to emphasize the level of the device.

The diameter of the disc on which the record is placed.

The standard diameter of a 33 rpm vinyl record is 12", or 300 mm. The diameter of the platter can differ from this value in one direction or the other; in normal listening to music this does not play a special role, but for a DJ " turntables, it is desirable that the disk be wider — due to this, it is more convenient to control the rotation.

The weight of the disk on which the record is mounted. The smoothness of the ride and the ability to compensate for uneven rotation of the engine due to the inertia of the disk directly depend on this indicator. Therefore, among audiophiles, there is a reasonable opinion that the more massive the disc, the better; in top models, its weight can be measured in tens of kilograms. On the other hand, a heavy disk accelerates slowly (in some models it even needs to be pushed by hand at the start), and scratching on such a “turntable” would be very difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, for a DJ player, a large disc weight, on the contrary, will be redundant.