Vibration and Modal Analysis of a Tonearm-Cartridge System

The paper presents a research on the vibration and experimental modal analysis of a tonearm-cartridge system applied to the mechanical system of a turntable. The high fidelity of the music reproduction depends drastically on the dynamical properties of the tonearm-cartridge system, which has only been simplified and studied empirically. The recently developed techniques on the experimental modal analysis, especially on the operational modal analysis and the damping estimation, open new windows to study this micro but complex system with innovations. The finding of the system natural frequencies of the tonearm structure reveals accurately low frequency resonances of the system and the effect of the tonearm dynamics into the vibration of the whole turntable. Moreover, the finding of the cartridge compliance and damping offer some innovative approaches to reduce the vibration level at the needle. The research attracts potential attention from the vinyl record reproduction industry.