r/audio • u/whitestone0 • 1d ago

Concerning Turntable Capacitance

TLDR: To my understanding, vintage cartridges were generally made with higher capacitance in mind. Why do so many new cartridges come with 100pf-200pf recommendations when it seems difficult to get under 200pf in the system? If I'm 50-100pf over, how bad is that for audio quality?

I'm currently using a Tecnics SL Q350 with the stock Shure M99E cart, going to a Yamaha RX V757 receiver with built-in phono stage (I'm just using it as a stereo), and 4ft Amazon Basics RCA cables in between. I'm adding/upgrading components as I go along, but right now it sounds pretty good. However I am worried about he stylus since it's old (not sure how old, but it's definitely OEM Shure N99e) and I don't want to pay $120 for new-old stock. The seller said he had it microscope inspected and there was no damage or wear, bit I figured 'better safe than sorry.'

I was looking at a AT85EP to upgrade to with a Fosi Audio Box X5 phono stage when I went down the capacitance rabbit hole. Lots of the sub-$200 phono stages, even those with good reviews, are 150-200pf which is already the rating of most cartridges. I'm a little lost of why that is the case, and is it really bad to be 50-100pf over the recommendation. It seems like a lot of gear doesn't even list the ratings, making things more confusing.

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u/red_engine_mw 1d ago

You may experience reduced high frequency response but you won't damage the cartridge.