Головки звукоснимателя — Audio Note IQ III

The IQ III tops the IQ family of moving-magnet cartridges made by Audio Note (UK). All three IQ models are built on one shared body shell, and the III differs from the IQ I and IQ II by its titanium tube cantilever, a part taken from the IO I, the moving-coil cartridge in the Audio Note catalogue. The diamond is an Audio Note Type 2, the same profile used on the IO I. Audio Note lists it in black only.

Key specs that matter

Rated output is 6.5 mV, plus or minus 1.5 dB, measured at 1 kHz with a groove velocity of 5 cm/sec. The response is given as 20 Hz to 20 kHz with a 2 dB tolerance. Electrically the generator measures 660 ohm of internal resistance and 570 mH of inductance, using coils of very fine copper wire with 99.99 percent purity. Separation between channels reaches 25 dB at 1 kHz, where balance is held to 2 dB. Compliance under static load is 24 mm laterally and 16 mm vertically, and the equivalent tip mass comes to 0.45 mg. The design uses a 24 degree vertical tracking angle. Weight is 6.3 g, the fixing holes are spaced 12.7 mm apart, and the tracking force window runs from 1.5 g to 2.5 g, 1.75 g being nominal.

Engineering and use context

Titanium is used here in place of the aluminium tube fitted to the two lower IQ models, and pairing it with the Type 2 diamond is how Audio Note separates the III from the rest of the range. The body is formed from Pocon, a stiff and lightweight polymer, and has threaded inserts moulded in, so headshell screws bite into the cartridge itself - a method intended to tighten the coupling between the two parts compared with conventional nut fixing. The whole stylus unit is removable, which lets a worn diamond be renewed by swapping one part rather than the complete cartridge. IQ stylus assemblies fit any IQ body, so an owner of an IQ I or IQ II can bring that cartridge to IQ III specification by buying only the III stylus assembly.

Pairing

Any phono stage with a moving-magnet input of 47 kOhm suits this cartridge, and the combined parallel capacitance of arm wiring and amplifier input should be kept between 150 pF and a ceiling of 200 pF. The output of several millivolts goes straight into such an input, with no step-up device in between.

Alternatives

The Audio Note IQ II combines the Type 2 diamond of this model with the hardened aluminium tube cantilever of the IQ I.