Phono cartridges are an essential part of your turntable.

They expertly read the tiny grooves etched into a vinyl record.

Then they convert the subtle physical movements into electrical signals through the principle of electromagnetism. From there, the device amplifies and refines the sound and finally delivers it through your speakers as the music you love. Understanding how a hi-fi phono cartridge works isn’t just for audiophiles. This is essential for anyone who wants to get the absolute best out of their turntable system.

To enhance your vinyl listening experience, well-balanced moving magnet cartridges combine precision engineering with musicality. Their compatibility with a wide range of turntables and phono preamps makes them accessible choices.

For instance, the Vertere Acoustics Sabre MM model has a precision-machined aluminium alloy body, ensuring optimal support and control of unwanted mechanical vibrations. Like moving-coil choices, the Ortofon 2M Blue MM model has Ortofon’s patented split-pole pins, a design that allows cartridges to have a flat frequency response. These pickups are compatible with a wide range of turntables and phono preamps, making them accessible choices for both new and seasoned vinyl listeners who want to pair them with premium quality turntables for audiophiles.

The Principle of Vinyl Record Playback

At the heart of it, vinyl records are a physical impression of music etched into plastic. What’s wild is that the process of making a record is like an MM cartridge working in reverse. Instead of pulling sound from grooves, the cutter head uses music signals to carve them in. When a track is recorded and ready to be turned into vinyl, a cutter head (driven by stereo signals) cuts tiny movements into the master record’s surface. The original studio sound waves shape these grooves, and that’s what ends up being pressed into every record you play.

So, how do turntables make sense of all this fine groove detail? That’s where moving magnet cartridges come in. As your stylus glides through the spiralling groove, it’s reading those tiny bumps, shifts, and modulations that were cut during production. This motion creates mechanical energy, and the pickup’s job is to turn that into electrical energy, which can then be amplified and transformed into the music you hear through your speakers.

To pull this off, every pickup needs a few key parts:

• Stylus: the needle that sits in the groove and picks up the movement;
• Cantilever: A small arm that joins the generator and stylus;
• Generator: This includes magnets and coils that respond to the movement and produce the electrical signal.

Stylus Profiles

When it comes to pulling beautiful sound from a vinyl record, the tiny diamond at the very tip of your moving magnet cartridge does a lot of heavy lifting. Diamond isn’t just chosen for its sparkle, but its hardness is what makes it perfect for the job. With the amount of pressure applied during playback, you need something that won’t wear down quickly, and more importantly, won’t wear out your records either.

Real diamonds don’t come cheap, so not all styluses are made the same. Some entry-level options use what’s called a tipped design, where a diamond chip is mounted onto another harder material before being attached to the cantilever. It does the job, but there are limitations. On the other hand, more premium designs feature a ‘nude’ diamond. This means that it’s a single, solid piece connected directly to the cantilever. That direct connection helps transmit the signal more accurately, which usually results in better sound.

But it’s not just about the material. The shape of the diamond also plays a big part in how well it reads the groove. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common stylus profiles and how they affect your listening experience:

• Spherical tips are the most basic. They’re easier to make and cheaper to buy, but they don’t dig deep into the groove and can put more stress on specific points of the record;
• Elliptical styluses offer a step up. Their sides are polished so they follow the grooves’ curves better. This means you get more detail without a huge jump in price;
• Fine-Line styluses are what you’ll find on higher-end gear. These have an expertly polished shape that hugs the groove closely and reaches deeper, pulling out all those subtle details hidden in your music.

The Cantilever and Suspension System

Tucked away inside your MM phono cartridge, doing some of the most important work behind the scenes, is the cantilever. So, what does the cantilever do in a turntable cartridge? This is a slender rod that connects the diamond tip to the pickup’s inner workings. It makes sure your records sound the way they should. The cantilever is essentially the translator between the physical movement of the stylus riding the groove and the electrical signal that ends up being your music.

To do this job properly, it needs to strike a delicate balance. It must be incredibly light so it can respond quickly and precisely to every subtle shift in the groove. But it should also be stiff enough not to flex too much, otherwise you’d lose accuracy and start hearing things that weren’t meant to be there. If it’s too heavy or too soft, the sound loses its clarity and detail, and distortion can creep in.

The suspension system works a bit like shock absorbers in a car, giving the cantilever the support it needs to move freely but under control. Brands like Ortofon have really dialled in this part of the design, often using advanced rubber compounds to create suspensions that are responsive and stable. Together, the cantilever and suspension handle the intense pressures of playback while delivering the precision needed for great sound.

Generator System

The generator system is what turns those tiny movements of the stylus into electrical signals that carry the music. The two primary styles are Moving Coil (MC) and Moving Magnet (MM). MM cartridges work by moving a magnet between coils to create an electrical signal. They’re easy to replace when they wear out. On the other hand, MC options use coils attached directly to the cantilever, producing a lower output but offering more detail and nuance from the vinyl. However, MC pickups require a special phono stage to get the right gain, and the stylus can’t be replaced separately.

Impact of Design and Materials

Once you get a handle on how pickups work, it starts to make a lot more sense why different design choices and materials can completely change the way they sound. A high-end example like the MC Diamond doesn’t just have a top-tier stylus, but it pairs that stylus with a diamond cantilever, which makes it ultra-rigid and super lightweight at the same time.

This is ideal for tracking groove detail without distortion. The suspension is specially engineered, too, using carbon nanotubes in the rubber for precise damping and stability. Even the internal coil wiring is made from ultra-pure materials to preserve every nuance in the signal. The housing is titanium shaped with laser precision to reduce unwanted resonance.

Not every cartridge will have this kind of cutting-edge tech, but once you understand what’s happening under the hood, it’s easier to spot smart design no matter your price range. Whether it’s the cantilever, the stylus, or the suspension, every component matters.