Audio IO I User Manual

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IO I

MOVING COIL CARTRIDGE

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OWNER’S INFORMATION

1) CE DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
DISPOSAL

2) INTRODUCTION

3) OVERVIEW

6) UNPACKING AND INSTALLATION

10) CLEANING AND SERVICING

11) TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

12) WARRANTY INFORMATION

13) CONTACT INFORMATION

CONTENTS

CE DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

DISPOSAL

This product must not be disposed of as normal household waste. To
prevent possible harm to the environment please separate the product
from other waste to ensure that it can be recycled in an environmentally
safe manner. Please contact your retailer or the appropriate local
government office for collection facilities.

We declare under our sole responsibility that this product is in conformity
with the following standards or standardized documents:

BS EN 60065 in accordance with the regulations 73/23/EEC, 89/336/EEC
(from 1 January 1997)

CE 94

Peter Qvortrup,
Director
Audio Note (UK) Limited
25 Montefiore Road
Hove
East Sussex
BN3 1RD
United Kingdom

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Thank you for purchasing this Audio Note (UK) product. With the correct care it
should give you many years of pleasure and enjoyment.

Please take the time to read all of the information in this manual before connecting
your new component to an electrical supply or your system, to ensure both your
safety and satisfaction.

Please note that due to our desire to continually improve products, specifications are
subject to change without notice. Therefore it is important to refer to the manual that
is supplied with your product for the most accurate information; manuals downloaded
from our website or obtained from other sources may no longer fully apply to your
product.

If you have any questions regarding the information contained within this document
or your new component, please feel free to contact us: -

Audio Note (UK) Limited

25 Montefiore Road

Hove

East Sussex

BN3 1RD

United Kingdom

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

e-mail: [e-mail]

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of the Audio Note (UK) IO I Moving Coil cartridge.
It is, without question, one of the finest and most technically significant Moving Coil
cartridge available today. No other range of Moving Coil cartridge offers such an
unparalleled combination of hitherto unknown performance, information retrieval,
dynamic contrast, tonal accuracy and sheer musical enjoyment.

Generator Principle

The moving coil principle was chosen as the basis for the design of the IO range of
cartridges, as it offers greater linearity in terms of electrical output from the
mechanical movements of the stylus than any other system. We investigated moving
iron, moving magnet, strain gauge, electret and electrostatic generators, and even
took the unusual step of acquiring a Toshiba cartridge that employed light emitting
diodes to generate the signal from the groove, but in the end it was felt that the
quality of the moving coil system as described by P. G. A. H. Voigt would yield the
best overall results.

Mechanical Construction

To ensure that the stored information on the disc is precisely recovered, it is essential
that the mechanical movement of the stylus is accurately translated into an electrical
signal. Any extraneous excitations arising as a result of vibrations in the cartridge
housing must be eliminated.

Therefore in the design of the Audio Note (UK) cartridges considerable attention has
been paid to the rigidity and structural integrity of the body, and to ensuring that the
adopted mechanical construction stores the absolute minimum of resonant energy,
which will degrade the signal derived from the disc being played.

Mechanical integrity of the cartridge body is an aspect of design that has never been
adequately dealt with before, and as a result all other cartridges suffer greatly from
colourations derived from internal resonances and/or energy stored in their body
assemblies.

To achieve the incredible level of mechanical integrity required for the IO cartridges,
all aspects of body design were reexamined, to minimize standing waves and
eliminate any resonating air pockets within the assembly.

The benefits of getting the mechanical assembly right would be lost if the complete
assembly could not be rigidly mounted in the tonearm, hence the incorporation of the
largest possible surface mounting area and the provision of up to six (6!) bolts to
secure the cartridge to the head shell.

IO I MOVING COIL CARTRIDGE

Magnetic circuit

Once the mechanical assembly had been perfected the next area to which particular
attention was paid was the magnetic circuit.

From numerous tests carried out on a variety of materials and configurations, it was
established that different types of magnetic materials exert a subtle influence on the
perceived quality of the final sound.

After further extensive research the optimal magnetic circuit was found to be electro
magnetically generated. This, however, requires a separate DC power supply and is
very costly to implement. This is exactly the system we implemented in our flagship
Moving Coil cartridge – the IO Limited – which offers an unparalleled level of
performance. However, for the IO I we chose the next best materials; Alnico magnets
for the IO II and IO Gold, and for the IO I.

Wire Material

Because of the low impedance and very low output of the IO I, it is essential that the
minimum number of electrical connections occur along the wire and that the wire
itself is of the highest possible quality. Not surprisingly we chose our custom made
Audio Note (UK) 99.99% pure silver wire, and the coil wire extends all the way to the
output terminals, avoiding all unnecessary connections.

Cantilever, Material and Design

It is on the design and construction of the cantilever that much of the quality of a
cartridge depends. Many materials were investigated, Boron, Beryllium, Sapphire,
Diamond and Titanium and all except Titanium were disregarded in the final analysis,
due to deficiencies in one or more areas.
It is vitally important for the cantilever and stylus assembly to be as rigid as possible
in order to accurately transfer the stylus motion to the coil assembly, without adding
any unwanted vibration as a result of flexing or bending.

The optimum cantilever material was found to be an extra thick walled, slightly
tapered Titanium tube, the taper being both outside AND inside, since this affords by
far the greatest rigidity.

Another advantage provided by this type of material was the possibility of employing
a longer cantilever, which greatly reduces cantilever excursions. This has three main
benefits: -

1) It is easier for the stylus to track complex, highly modulated grooves.

2) The resultant smaller coil movement reduces the nonlinearities in the magnetic
field, so the field will ‘bend’ less.

3) Damping can be reduced, as it becomes easier to control stylus movement.

IO I MOVING COIL CARTRIDGE

Damping

As mentioned above, damping of the cantilever is extremely critical. Too much and
the cartridge will sound dull, as a large amount of the critical energy from the record
will be absorbed in the damper instead of reaching the coils, reducing the efficiency
of the energy transfer from the record (as vibrational energy) to the cartridge (as
electrical energy).

Conversely, too little damping will make the cantilever prone to uncontrolled
excursions, resulting in unwanted distortions and poor tracking.

Much experimentation led to a precision Butyl rubber damper, offering a wide
operating temperature range and minimal hysteresis effects. The tension on the
damper is furthermore adjustable, allowing very accurate set-up of each cartridge’s
individual suspension.

Stylus Choice

Finally the assembly is completed with the use of a solid diamond stylus. A heroic
degree of effort has been expended finding the best possible solution to this, the
most critical interface with the “plastic”. Having been ultimately unsatisfied with the
offerings from the various stylus manufacturers around the globe, in 1995 we
contracted a company to develop a process which would allow them to cut and polish
a perfect, natural octagon to a level of the best surgical instruments used for eye and
other fine surgery, on a diamond less than half the size of the closest, readily
available option at that time. This remains to the best of our knowledge the finest
diamond in use on any cartridge available today.

The improvements over any standard diamonds use in other cartridges can be briefly
described as better tracking of high frequencies, lower surface noise, lower record
wear, longer stylus life, smaller tip mass and lower tracking force.

The stylus is first ‘pinched’ into place by the cantilever and then glued, using a single
component epoxy resin, which needs ‘baking’ for about three hours to harden.

Test Procedure

After assembly, each cartridge is subjected to a series of tests, one of which involves
a fast dynamic frequency sweep, at high amplitude; this method shows up any
undesirable problems in the cartridge. Special test equipment and test records had to
be developed for this process, which is exclusive to Audio Note (UK).

IO I MOVING COIL CARTRIDGE

Please take care when unpacking your IO I. Choose a clean, clear location to unpack
your cartridge. We recommend that you retain and carefully store all of the original
packing materials, in case transportation / shipping is required at a later date.

Open the wooden transit box. You will see that the cartridge is mounted on a wooden
insert for protection during shipping. The cartridge is supplied with the removable
stylus guard installed, and we recommend leaving it in place during the initial
installation procedure.

Carefully remove the wooden insert. Underneath, you should find an appropriately
sized hex head wrench. Gently hold the cartridge by its side cheeks, and identify the
two mounting bolts that secure it to the wooden insert. Carefully remove the two
mounting bolts, and once removed, retain these as they can be used to attach the
IO I to your tonearm heashell.

Once the cartridge, mounting bolts and wrench have been removed, place the transit
box and insert to one side. Once installation has been completed, return the wrench
to the box and store safely for later use.

You are now ready to mount your IO I in your tonearm’s head-shell.

UNPACKING AND INSTALLATION

It is often easier to connect the tonearm wires to the connection pins located at the
rear of the cartridge body before it is mounted in the head-shell. The pins are colour
coded according to the International Standard Colour Code. Connect the four
tonearm wires to the corresponding cartridge pins: -

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE HEAD-SHELL WIRES BE
SOLDERED DIRECTLY TO THE CONNECTION PINS OF THE CARTRIDGE
BODY. HEAT APPLIED TO THE CONNECTION PINS WILL CAUSE
IRREPARABLE DAMAGE.

IO I INSTALLATION

RIGHT
NEGATIVE
‘GREEN’

RIGHT
POSITIVE
‘RED’

LEFT
NEGATIVE
‘BLUE’

LEFT
POSITIVE
‘WHITE’

The cartridge body is equipped with mounting holes in the top surface to accept the
supplied mounting bolts. They are spaced 12.7mm apart, (across the width of the
cartridge body) which is the industry standard distance. Additionally, the IO I has six
mounting holes – three per side – rather than the conventional two; this is to provide
the most rigid and secure coupling possible between cartridge and headshell.

A pair of high quality hex head bolts and nuts, and an appropriately sized wrench are
provided for mounting the cartridge body to the head-shell.

Pass the bolts down (from above) through the mounting holes in the head-shell, and
align them with the holes in the top surface of the cartridge body.
Carefully align the nuts below each bolt, and tighten them gently to hold the cartridge
securely in place.
Do not fully tighten the bolts until all cartridge alignment procedures have been
completed. (Once all alignment has been finalized, an extra four fixing bolts and nuts
may be installed if you wish, to maximize the rigidity of the cartridge / headshell
interface. Please remember to readjust the tracking weight!).

Once the cartridge is in place, set the correct tracking weight. Do this BEFORE the
final adjustments are made for cartridge alignment, as this will help to ensure the
cantilever is not damaged due to excessive tracking force. Once final alignment
adjustments have been made, it will be necessary to check the tracking weight again,
as any movement of the cartridge body will change the tracking weight.

The optimum tracking weight for the IO Limited is 2.5g. Remember to remove the
clear acrylic stylus guard before setting the tracking weight!

IO I INSTALLATION continued…

To achieve correct cartridge alignment, it will be necessary to use the alignment
protractor provided with your tonearm. If in doubt, contact your tonearm
manufacturer, or contact you Audio Note (UK) dealer, who will be able to advise you.

It is also important to make sure that the top surface of the cartridge is mounted
parallel to the surface of the record, when viewed from the front and side. These
adjustments – referred to as Azimuth and Stylus Rake Angle – will have a noticeable
effect on tonal and channel balance, and every effort should be made to accurately
adjust these settings.

Once the final cartridge alignment adjustments have been completed, check the
tracking weight again, to ensure that it is correctly set at 2.5g.

You are now ready to enjoy your record collection!

TOP SURFACE OF CARTRIDGE BODY SHOULD BE PARALLEL WITH RECORD

SURFACE, WHEN VIEWED FROM THE FRONT AND SIDE.

IO I INSTALLATION continued…

Cleaning The IO I requires no special maintenance or cleaning. Under

no circumstances should any liquid or solvent-based cleaning
solutions be applied to the diamond or cantilever. Build up of
dust of fluff can be gently blown away, and only in very extreme
circumstances should a small, soft artist’s brush be used to
clean the diamond of cantilever, moving the brush, slowly,
gently and extremely carefully from back to front, never in the
opposite direction or from side to side.

Cartridge Life The operational life of a cartridge can be affected by a variety

of factors, such as frequency of use, ambient temperature,
humidity, quality of vinyl being played etc. Our approximate
estimates for the lifespan of the IO I is within the region of 1000
to 3000 hours, depending on and not limited to the factors
mentioned above.

Rebuilding We offer a very affordable rebuilding service for all Audio Note

IO cartridges, should they become damaged or if they have
reached the end of their operational life. If you wish to have
your IO Limited rebuilt or retipped, please contact us directly: -

Audio Note (UK) Limited

25 Montefiore Road

Hove

East Sussex

BN3 1RD

United Kingdom

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

e-mail: [e-mail]

CLEANING AND SERVICING

OUTPUT VOLTAGE

0.04mV / 5cm / sec

INTERNAL IMPEDANCE

1 Ohm

MATCHING IMPEDANCE

3 – 4 Ohms

FREQUENCY RANGE

10 – 50KHz, +/- 2dB (dynamic test)

SEPARATION

Greater than 30dB at 1KHz

COMPLIANCE (TYPICAL)

Horizontal 10

Vertical 15

WEIGHT

11g

STYLUS PRESSURE

2 – 3g

2.5g optimal

CANTILEVER

Titanium

STYLUS

AN Type 2 Diamond

NOTE

Due to Audio Note (UK)’s ongoing research and

development program, specifications are subject

to change without notice.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Audio Note (UK) warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and
workmanship for two years from the original date of purchase from an appointed
Audio Note (UK) dealer, and agrees to cover the cost of parts and associated labour

required to correct such defects, subject to terms & conditions.

This Warranty is offered to the first purchaser only.

Any valves supplied with the unit are warranted for three months from the original
date of purchase.

If the product fails in normal domestic use and during the Warranty period due to the
above described faults or defects, Audio Note (UK) will, at its discretion, repair or
replace the item free of charge within a reasonable time once it has been returned to
Audio Note (UK) or an appointed Audio Note (UK) dealer or service engineer.

Audio Note (UK) is not liable for any shipping charges incurred whilst transporting the
product to or from Audio Note (UK) or an appointed Audio Note (UK) dealer or
service engineer, should the item require service or repair during or after the
Warranty period.

If the product must be shipped, please use the original packaging materials and
include a copy of the original sales receipt along with a note explaining, in as much
detail as possible, the problems you are experiencing with the unit.

Only use a reputable Courier Service or Shipping Agent, and ensure that your
product is insured during transit.

Any servicing, repairs or modifications not authorized by Audio Note (UK), or
carried out by persons other than appointed Audio Note (UK) service
engineers will invalidate any warranty.

This Warranty does NOT cover: -

Damage sustained whilst in the possession of a shipping agent, retailer or consumer
and not caused as a direct result of defects in materials or workmanship.

Damage caused by normal wear and tear.

Damage or defects caused by abnormal or unreasonable use.

Damage caused by accident, acts of nature, misuse or neglect.

Damage caused by a failure to follow the operating and installation instructions
supplied with the product.

Damage caused by improper or careless cleaning.

Audio Note (UK) reserves the right to refuse warranty for any component of which
the serial number has been removed, defaced or tampered with.

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Audio Note (UK) Limited

25 Montefiore Road

Hove

East Sussex

BN3 1RD

United Kingdom

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

e-mail: [e-mail]

CONTACT INFORMATION

If in the future your Audio Note (UK) product

requires servicing, or if you require technical support

or have any questions regarding this or any of our

other products, please contact your local Audio Note

(UK) dealer.

Alternatively, please feel free to contact us directly: -!