# Turntables, Grounds & Magnet/Ceramic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072 "2000-02-08T13:17:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/1 "2000-02-08T13:17:00Z")
For the young’uns, so what’s a turntable, right? :rolleyes: Just kidding. I have owned many quality turntables over the years. Only one had a ground wire. Also, only one receiver had a switch for a “magnetic” vs. “ceramic” cartridge - referring to the turntable stylus, I guess. If you select the wrong setting, you get a nice buzz from your speakers (no, not from the beer in hand) 🙂 What’s the deal here? It’s just a turntable! How/when did it get so complex? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/2 "2000-02-08T14:06:00Z")
Well, my understanding is that it’s a lot like the current problem of cable bandwidth. One tries to squeeze ALL one can from one’s current technology. In the Olden Days of vinyl, and grooves, this was achieved by using something that could pick up the vibrations caused by the grooves. The finer the sensitivity, the better your LP’s sounded. I still have my old Sony PST-22 turntable. It cost me about $ 150.00 new. And with it, I bought an Ortophon Cartridge. THAT cost me more than the turntable. Why? Because the tip of the cartridge was made of something ( god knows what? Sapphire? ) that allowed it to pick up every bit of texturing in the grooves of the LP. Or, more accurately, the groove- since each side of an LP only has one long groove. I could have purchased some podunk needle for my turntable, at a fraction of the price of the Ortophon, but I probably would have been able to hear the difference. Cartooniverse * * * If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel. ---
**Author:** ![SavageNarce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@SavageNarce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SavageNarce)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/3 "2000-02-08T16:08:00Z")
A good turntable, like any good piece of electronics, should have a ground wire, or at least a terminal where a ground wire could be attached. All components should, ideally, share a common ground, to minimize hum that might be picked up in the system. If you had a first-rate turntable, even though a ground wire was not apparent, there would probably have been a terminal (pointed out in the owner’s manual) meant for grounding the chassis. “Magnetic” and “ceramic” cartridges were the two basic types of cartridge available. Ceramic cartridges used a piezoelectric element to translate the movements of the needle to electric form. The output voltage was higher than a magnetic cartridge, so no pre-amplifier was required - thus the “ceramic/magnetic” switch on your amplifier. Magnetic cartridges, although they had a lower output, were preferred for their fidelity, tracking and response characteristics, so were used in “high-end” systems. The “needle” (the part that contacted the record) was diamond, and was available in conical and elliptical formats, depending on the manufacturer. Sapphire needles were usually reserved for portable 45 players or kids’ record players, as sapphire needles did not hold up very well and could do damage to a good vinyl LP. Even diamonds wore down, and had to be checked regularly. And turntables were seldom simple. There were endless debates among audiophiles about turntables versus changers, belt drive versus direct drive, tone arm retrofits, anti-skating devices, arm/cartridge geometries, and all manner of esoterica. It was a point of pride to be able to claim that your system could track at 1/4 gram, and we had the gauges to prove it! BTW: > [@](#): > > …each side of an LP only has one long groove" is not necessarily so. I can recall at least one “3-sided” LP from Monty Python. One side had 2 grooves. You had to stop and re-start the needle a few times to “select” a different track. * * * Computers in the future may weigh no more than 15 tons. -Popular Mechanics, 1949 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/4 "2000-02-08T17:38:00Z")
But it’s **analog!** ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/5 "2000-02-09T06:06:00Z")
Yeah, wel, so are you! * * * _It is too clear, and so it is hard to see._ ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/6 "2000-02-09T06:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by tracer: > **But it’s analog!** Hey, the powers that be have decided not to issue everything on CD, and then there are some CDs have been “toyed with” varying dramatically from the LP original. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/7 "2000-02-08T19:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by SavageNarce: > \*\*I can recall at least one “3-sided” LP from Monty Python. One side had 2 grooves. You had to stop and re-start the needle a few times to “select” a different track. > \*\* Monty Python’s _Matching Tie and Handkerchief_. Not to be confused with the Exectutive version of the album of the sound track of the trailer of the film of _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ which could only be played once. Interesting thread as I’m looking into buying a turntable to turn my old vinyl into CDs. I had a semi-decent one with a farily good Audio-Technica cartridge but it was damaged in storage. Any suggestions under $200? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/8 "2000-02-08T21:20:00Z")
Savage-- Laughing HARD here. I totally forgot about that album. I squat corrected !! 🙂 Cartooniverse * * * If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/9 "2000-02-09T03:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Interesting thread as I’m looking into buying a turntable to turn my old vinyl into CDs. How are you planning on doing this? I’ve been thinking about this too, with all the roll-your-own-CD equipment. How are you planning on digitizing the music? Does someone make something for regular consumers? * * * _It is too clear, and so it is hard to see._ ---
**Author:** ![SavageNarce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@SavageNarce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SavageNarce)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2000, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/10 "2000-02-12T06:18:00Z")
There is a fair amount of software around (even some shareware and freeware) that will digitize music. A quick websearch will turn up a slew of it. One that I like (free!) is Alpha Technologies CDex, available from [www.surf.to/cdex](http://www.surf.to/cdex) My understanding is that, while burning a CD-ROM is a relatively simple affair, creating an audio CD is a little more fiddly. Perhaps some other posters can provide further tips and info? ---
**Author:** ![Doctordec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doctordec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctordec)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2000, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/11 "2000-02-12T06:33:00Z")
You ought to be able to find a pretty good turntable on Ebay. I’ve seen an AR belt drive turntable on there. The AR was really simple, just an on/off switch and an arm. I dug my old Akai turntable out from under my bed just to show my kids how an album was played and they wondered where the track select button was. Most of the newer receivers don’t even HAVE a phono input, damn shame. * * * “Hope is not a method” ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2000, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turntables-grounds-magnet-ceramic/7072/12 "2000-02-12T16:20:00Z")
## ZenBeam said: How are you planning on doing this? I’ve been thinking about this too, with all the roll-your-own-CD equipment. How are you planning on digitizing the music? Does someone make something for regular consumers? Your sound card will perform the digitizing. You connect your amplifier to the “line-in” jack on the sound card. You need software to record the music as a “wav” file. I use CoolEdit. The whole album is recorded as one huge “wav” file. I then use LpRipper to separate out the tracks. The software that burns the CD came with my Hewlett Packard CD writer. It’s called Easy CD Creator. I also use a great piece of software called SoundLaundry Compact to remove the pops and crackles from the wav files. It’s amazing how it cleans up my old albums. I also scan the album covers in two scans and stitch them together in Picture Publisher. Easy CD Creator prints out jewel case inserts and I paste the album covers in. Another piece of software prints out the CD label. It came with the Neato label applicator. It takes a lot of time, but that music is something I don’t want to lose and most of it will never be re-issued. How many other people ever heard of Doc Evans?