A Primer on Panasonic Turntable Needles
After fading into the background for a few years while cassette tapes, CDs, and digital technology became prevalent, vinyl records are finding their way back into audiophile's collections as a favorite music medium. Panasonic manufactures a variety of needles and stylus components for turntables that are designed to optimize your listening experience.
What’s the difference between phonograph needles, styluses, and cartridges?Although the terms needle, stylus, and cartridge are often used interchangeably, Panasonic needles, styluses, and cartridges are actually distinct turntable components:
- Needle: This refers to the thin rod or cantilever that protrudes from the cartridge. A tiny magnet is attached near its top. The cantilever rides low in the grooves of a record and transmutes groove variations into sound by means of voltage changes that are produced when the magnet interacts with wires in the cartridge. Panasonic needles are usually made out of aluminum or nonmagnetic steel.
- Stylus: Although stylus specifically refers to the tip of the cantilever, most needles cannot be replaced without also replacing the stylus. Styluses are typically manufactured from industrial diamonds or some other industrial-grade gemstone.
- Cartridge: A cartridge is the transducer mechanism to which the cantilever is attached. In addition to the cantilever and the stylus, a cartridge also contains one or more magnets and coils of wire. These components are assembled within a body.
If you put a clean record on your Panasonic turntable and hear noticeable distortions in the resulting music, it may be time to replace your needle or cantilever. Such distortions may include:
- Crackles
- Hissing
- Static
- Channel imbalances
- Vocal sibilance
Those acoustic distortions may also be the result of tiny dust particles that have settled in the record’s grooves, so it’s important to clean your records carefully before you play them. Another indication that it’s time to replace your cantilever is when the record skips or bounces when you play it. This generally means that your stylus needs to be replaced.
How do you choose a Panasonic replacement needle?Determine whether your issues are the fault of a malfunctioning needle or a malfunctioning cartridge. You may want to replace your Panasonic cartridge if there’s obvious physical damage to it such that it wobbles as your record plays. Some Panasonic turntable models, however, are manufactured with nonremovable cartridges. Check your manual to see if this is the case with your turntable. If you do end up replacing your cartridge, you’ll need to find a replacement cartridge that’s compatible with the mass of your turntable’s tonearm.
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