Audio Note IO Limited - Manual (Page 6)

Congratulations on your purchase of the Audio Note (UK) IO Limited Moving Coil
cartridge. It is, without question, the finest and most technically significant Moving
Coil cartridge available today. No other cartridge offers such an unparalleled
combination of hitherto unknown performance, information retrieval, dynamic
contrast, tonal accuracy and sheer musical enjoyment.
Generator Principle
The moving coil principle was chosen as the basis for the design of the IO range of
cartridges, as it offers greater linearity in terms of electrical output from the
mechanical movements of the stylus than any other system. We investigated moving
iron, moving magnet, strain gauge, electret and electrostatic generators, and even
took the unusual step of acquiring a Toshiba cartridge that employed light emitting
diodes to generate the signal from the groove, but in the end it was felt that the
quality of the moving coil system as described by P. G. A. H. Voigt would yield the
best overall results.
Mechanical Construction
To ensure that the stored information on the disc is precisely recovered, it is essential
that the mechanical movement of the stylus is accurately translated into an electrical
signal. Any extraneous excitations arising as a result of vibrations in the cartridge
housing must be eliminated.
Therefore in the design of the Audio Note (UK) cartridges considerable attention has
been paid to the rigidity and structural integrity of the body, and to ensuring that the
adopted mechanical construction stores the absolute minimum of resonant energy,
which will degrade the signal derived from the disc being played.
Mechanical integrity of the cartridge body is an aspect of design that has never been
adequately dealt with before, and as a result all other cartridges suffer greatly from
colourations derived from internal resonances and/or energy stored in their body
assemblies.
To achieve the incredible level of mechanical integrity required for the IO cartridges,
all aspects of body design were reexamined, to minimize standing waves and
eliminate any resonating air pockets within the assembly.
The benefits of getting the mechanical assembly right would be lost if the complete
assembly could not be rigidly mounted in the tonearm, hence the incorporation of the
largest possible surface mounting area and the provision of up to six (6!) bolts to
secure the cartridge to the head shell.
IO LIMITED MOVING COIL CARTRIDGE