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Does RIAA equalisation apply to ceramic phono cartridges?
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Yes and no. Yes, it does apply because the record is cut with a need for playback equalisation. No, because most of the equalisation comes automatically for a ceramic cartridge, provided it has a high impedance load. A magnetic cartridge responds to the velocity of the groove, so is weaker at lower frequencies. A ceramic cartridge responds to the deflection of the groove. This means that the LF boost/HF cut is not needed.
However, a ceramic cartridge looks like a capacitor so if fed into a low impedance, such as a 47K MM input, this will cut bass so full RIAA equalisation will be needed as for MM or MC cartridges.
The lack of bass could be caused by poor cartridge/arm matching giving a high arm resonance. The strident treble could be caused by arm resonances. You can't expect an old record player to sound like modern hi-fi, and a ceramic cartridge put in a modern deck/arm could sound even worse as it will probably be a significant mechanical mismatch.