Comparison Pioneer PL-30-K vs Denon DP-300F

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 effective length of a tonearm in set is the distance from the attachment point (axis of rotation) to the stylus.

This indicator is important primarily for rotary tonearms: the longer the length, the lower the angular error, the smaller the discrepancy between the direction of movement of the track and the longitudinal axis of the pickup (for more details, see “Type”) and the lower the level of corresponding distortion. In addition, a longer length reduces the resonant frequency and reduces the likelihood of distortion. On the other hand, a longer tonearm turns out to be heavier, which requires certain technical tricks and can also negatively affect the purity of the sound. Therefore, a large length is not always a guarantee of high quality – you should also pay attention to weight (see below).

A phono stage is a specially designed preamp used with vinyl record pickups. Initially, the sound on such records was recorded with a distortion of the amplitude-frequency characteristic, namely, with an increase in volume from low frequencies to high ones; this is due to the technical features of the recording process. Accordingly, the phono stage not only amplifies the signal to a level sufficient to supply power to the amplifier, but also corrects the frequency response, “pulling out” the bass and reducing the volume of the high frequencies. And the built-in phono stage allows you to connect the player to the power amplifier directly, without the use of intermediate equipment. However according to the characteristics, the built-in preamplifiers-correctors are inferior to external ones. Therefore, in some models with this function , bypass mode may be provided, which allows you to send a signal bypassing the built-in phono stage to an external, more advanced one. And also there are even vinyl players without a phono stage.

The range of frequencies that the player is capable of outputting when using a standard pickup.

The wider the frequency range, the more complete the sound picture will be, the less low and/or high frequencies will remain behind the scenes. However, from a practical point of view, it does not make sense to expand the range beyond the values \u200b\u200bof 16 – 22000 Hz — it is within these limits that the human ear hears the sound (and even then not everyone). In high-end audio equipment, including turntables, there are more extensive ranges; however, such characteristics are a kind of “side effect” of high-end technology that manufacturers use for advertising purposes.

In addition, we note that an extensive frequency range is not yet a guarantee of high-quality sound: the sound picture depends on many other parameters, from the amplitude-frequency response to extraneous interference.

The maximum knock factor that the turntable is subject to under normal conditions.

Detonation in this case is called sound distortion associated with short-term periodic irregularities in the rotation of the disk. The lower the detonation coefficient, the lower the level of such distortions; it is believed that for audiophile-class equipment it should not exceed 0.2%, although in more modest models it may be higher.

Note that for different playback speeds, knock coefficients can also be different. Manufacturers in such cases may indicate the minimum value, despite the fact that it can be achieved not at the usual 33 rpm, but at 45 or even 78 rpm. Therefore, when choosing a high-end turntable, it's ok to clarify this point.

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 player, 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 complete set, also includes a pickup. As for the materials for the base, they must meet specific requirements — in particular, be quite heavy in order 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 its 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 the plastic described above, but in general, this material is much more advanced in terms of performance, while it is relatively inexpensive and can have an original appearance (in particular, become transparent). Acrylic tables are typical for fairly solid models.

— Metal. Metal bases are massive and highly durable, however, they are not che...ap, and therefore are found mainly in premium turntables.

— MDF / fiberboard. Fiberboards, in addition to good acoustic characteristics, are notable for their pleasant appearance, especially suitable for retro-style devices. Such 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 for 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 received much distribution.

— 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.