[B70valkyrie]

So I hear the term "high/low compliance" used in regards cantilever suspensions.  I look up the values and I find that compliance is measured in "dynes/cm".  Ok so compliance is a measure of "force".  Newton/meters and all.

Fine - but to put this in layman's terms which is more flexible? (I assume the force measurement is a description of how "stiff" a cantilever is, i.e. how much force it takes to bend it).

In other words is a "high compliance" cantilever/suspension more flexible?  Or would that be a "low compliance". 

The flexibility of the cantilever/suspension combination is going to have an impact on tracking, sound et cetera.  So would a cantilever of Boron (stiff I assume) be higher/lower compliance than one of aluminum.

thanks,

[neobop]

Hi, and welcome,
Yes, compliance (cu) is a measure of springiness. The higher the number the more compliant. Standard measurement for dynamic cu is at 10Hz. This number is used to match carts with arms of appropriate effective mass. Normally a carts that is very compliant (high cu) will track with low vertical tracking force (VTF) and be used with  light weight arms. The converse is also true. Modern carts generally range in cu from 14 to 22. Arm effective mass usually ranges from 7g to about 20 or so. The idea with matching cu to arm mass is to keep the low frequency resonance within an acceptable range. That is 8 to 12Hz. Below 8Hz you get in the record warp region. Above 13Hz you're approaching the audible band. If there is a mismatch, usually a cart that is too compliant for an arm might work out. A low cu cart on a light arm almost never is acceptable.

You can look up many carts and arms here:
http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_database.php

The tonearm database has eff mass for many arms. The resonance calculators are an estimate and YMMV. A test record with low frequency bands will give you actual resonance. One fly in the ointment - some Japanese cart manufacturers measure cu at 100Hz. This is not directly comparable to standard cu. To estimate the conversion multiply 100Hz cu by 1.75. It's always a good idea to ask what good combos are. Matching cu to arm mass is only one aspect. There are many synergistic combos and we benefit from each others experience.

Even though boron is much more rigid than alum, a cart with a boron cantilever is not necessarily lower cu. There are usually intermediate or connecting pieces in a more compliant suspension that determine cu.
neo