The IQ III features a rigid yet lightweight body made from Pocon, which is equipped with integral threaded inserts for easy installation in the tonearm head-shell. This mounting system greatly improves mechanical coupling between the cartridge body and head-shell in comparison to the traditional nut & bolt fixing.
The internal coils are made from extremely fine copper wire, and the IQ III uses the same cantilever material and diamond found in the legendary Audio Note IO I moving coil cartridge. Made from titanium tube rather than aluminium, the cantilever is unique, and in combination with the Audio Note Type 1 stylus, offers a level of performance that was often though impossible to achieve with a Moving Magnet design.
The complete stylus assembly is removable, making replacement or upgrade a very simple and cost effective process. In fact, all of the IQ stylus assemblies are interchangeable, meaning that you could start with an IQ-I, and eventually replace the stylus assembly with the vastly superior version used in the IQ-III.
It has been designed to be used with a Moving Magnet compatible phono stage, with an input impedance of 47K Ohms. Total capacitance in parallel (including arm lead and amplifier capacitance) should not exceed 200pF. If other values of load resistance and capacitance are used, the frequency response of the cartridge may depart from the specified values.
Specification
LOAD RESISTANCE |
47K Ohms |
LOAD CAPACITANCE |
150 - 200 pF |
INTERNAL INDUCTANCE |
570mH |
INTERNAL RESISTANCE |
660 Ohms |
FREQUENCY RESPONSE |
20Hz to 20KHz, +/- 2dB |
WEIGHT |
6.3g |
FIXING CENTRES |
12.7mm / 0.5" |
TRACKING FORCE / WEIGHT |
1.5g - 2.5g (1.75g nominal) |
CHANNEL BALANCE |
2dB @ 1KHz |
CHANNEL SEPARATION |
25dB @ 1KHz |
SENSITIVITY |
6.5mV +/- 1.5dB (1KHz @ 5cm/sec) |
STATIC COMPLIANCE |
(N lateral) 24mm / (N vertical) 16mm |
EQUIVALENT TIP MASS |
0.45mg |
VERTICAL TRACKING ANGLE |
24 degrees |