Our Comments:
It is a 'one peice' solution that will just plug into the round socket at the end of a S shaped tonearm. It single-handedly replaces a headshell, cartridge and needle, while still having a replaceable needle (see related products below). This is a N.O.S. (New Old Stock) Audio Technica piece.

Unlisted Advantage:
Another great feature, not mentioned by A-T in their original product literature is that since it is one solid piece it allows the wiring to be both protected and as direct as possible. Wherever you have less connections, the more direct wiring from cartridge to amplifier will have less signal loss.

Specifications: AT-52E

Stylus Shape: .4 x .7mil BiRadial (Elliptical) Bonded Diamond tip
Cantilever: Thin wall tube (NOT for DJ use)
Tracking Force: 1.2 - 1.8 grams
Vertical Tracking Angle: 20°
Output Level: 3.1mV @ 5cm/sec. @ 1Khz
Frequency Range: 20 - 23Khz
Load Impedance: 47K ohm
Load Capacitance: 100-200 pF
Channel Balance: 2.0 dB
Channel Seperation: 27dB @ 1Khz & 19dB @ 10Khz
Total Weight: 6.0 grams




Audio Technica product info. sheet below:

The new Ultra-miniatures from Audio-Technica represent years of research and design aimed at a single complex goal; to streamline the phono cartridge so that it better integrates with both the tone arm and the record. The AT52E features an integral headshell for mounting in virtually all of the European and Japanese bayonet style tone arms. This integral headshell design allowed the A-T engineers to fully integrate the normally seperate components of the headshell, cartridge and needle, in order to control headshell resonance.

Why Smaller?
It is important to understand, first, that the phono cartridge generates an output by the differential motion of the tiny magnets within the stationary field of the coil/pole pieces.

If the mass of the cartridge/tone arm combination is too great, warped records will cause the cantilever to move relative to the coil/pole field and cause an undesirable output to be generated. This robs power from your amplifier and produces non-musical, low frequency tones that can negatively affect your speakers' performance.

With this new A-T cartridge, the reduced mass ends this problem. Now the energy from the warp causes the entire cantilever/cartridge/tonearm configuration to move as a unit, thus eliminating the differential movement and therefore producing no undesirable output.

But there's more to this cartridge than low mass. Making the cartridge convey all the recorded sound without contributing any of its own is not easy. It requires not one, but many design refinements. To damp out unwanted resonance, for example, we provide an individually factor-tuned complinace adjustment, the 360° radial damping system, and a low mass, flex-free cantilever. Hum is avoided by careful shielding which isolates the cartridge from its outer environment. Mistracking distortion is eliminated by an extremely low-mass stylus and cantilever assembly and a flexible suspension filament which permits full 360° stylus movement.

Vector Aligned magnetic system

Ideal stereo seperation is assured through a unique magnetic system which positions two tiny magnets on the cantilever so that each is perpendicular to the groove from which is derives sound stimuli. The geometry is such that, when the stylus responds to undulations in one groove wall, exactly corresponding motion is induced in one magnet, leaving the other relatively motionless. The result: Sound from each channel is reproduced accurately and discretely.

Ideal stylus-pivot-magnet relationship

By positioning the dual magnets ahead of the cantilever pivot, A-T engineers effectively shorten the distance between the magnet and the stylus. And since groove energy does not pass through the pivot, sound transfer is more efficient-and more accurate.