Micro-Acoustics 282-e phono cartridge

MICRO-ACOUSTICS 282-E PHONO CARTRIDGE - New Old Stock
- Optimum transient and tracking ability

From the sudden attack of a low organ note to the bite of a plucked string, a good phono cartridge must handle all kinds of transients without distortion. Because transients - the characteristic attack and decay of musical sounds - are essential to differentiate one instrument from another. Providing what most people call 'clarity'. No less important, accurate transient information locates instruments precisely in space: the very basis of stereo reproduction. Without good transient ability, lifelike reproduction of recorded music is impossible.

The MA 282-e: an innovation in playback stylus technology. The 282-e uses a new low-mass miniature elliptical diamond, mounted on an ultra-lightweight aluminum cantilever. As a result, the cartridge exhibits an effective tip mass that's nearly identical to that of our top-of-the-line 2002-e. The net result of these advances is a transducer with the best transient and tracking performance of any cartridge in its price category. And a corresponding improvement in the detail and accuracy of the music it reproduces.

A technical look. The Micro-Acoustics 282-e is a low-mass phonograph cartridge, employing electret transducers which are directly coupled to the stylus assembly by means of a unique, patented resolver mechanism.

All critical parts are fabricated by Micro-Acoustics at our own plant. After initial assembly of the cartridge, it is placed in a precision alignment fixture, under a high-power comparator. Here, minute internal adjustments are made so that the mechanical relationships within the cartridge correspond precisely to the ideal design parameters. Every cartridge is tested for frequency response, sensitivity, channel separation, tracking force and distortion. Only then is the cartridge placed into stock for shipment.

1. Low 5.2 gram mass.

2. Mechanical dampers.
Configuration of 8 damping blocks achieves optimum transient response, while allowing the MA 282e to track the heaviest groove modulations at low forces.

3. Miniature elliptical diamond stylus.
Special low-mass playback stylus is shaped and polished with the same care as our world-famous Micro-Point recording styli.

4. Ultra-lightweight aluminum stylus bar.

5. Dual bearings and resolver.
For optimum tracking ability and precise signal resolution. The resolver separates the complex stylus vibrations into left and right channels.

6. Direct coupling of stylus bar to electret.
Coupling the stylus bar to the electrets at this point directly transmits the undulations of the groove to the transducers.

7. User-replaceable stylus assembly.

8. Electret transducer.
A permanently-polarized dielectric device best described as a low-mass electrostatic equivalent of a magnet.

9. Microcircuit.
Passive circuit matches the electret transducer's characteristics to preamplifier phono inputs.

Micro-Acoustics MA 282-e Phono Cartridge Specifications
- Output voltage at 5cm/sec.: 3.5 mV
- Frequency response: 5-20,000 Hz ± 2dB
- Stylus type: Miniature elliptical diamond
- Stylus tip radius: .0002 x .0007
- Cantilever: Ultra-lightweight aluminum cantilever
- Tracking force range: 0.75-1.5 g
- Recommended load resistance: 10kOhm - 100kOhm (not critical)
- Recommended load capacitance: 100-1,500 pF (not critical)
- Cartridge weight without screws: 5.2 g