spintheblackestcircles.org

It always strikes me how little research there is about the relation between stylus types and record wear. Because of this I realise opinions can vary, and I would like to know what kind of stylus people use, and why.

I myself started decades ago with regular cheap elipticials, and quickly upgraded to the "top of the line" Fine-line/Line contact stylii. (Ortofon Salsa, Audio Technica 150MLX)
Which supposedly maxmise high frequency tracking ability while minimising record wear. While I subscribe to the former, line-contacts do extract higher frequencies better, I have never experienced, or even seen any evidence of the latter.

The only real research I have ever found seems to indicate that conical stylii tracking below 2.5 grams cause the least wear, followed by elypticals at 1.5 grams or lower. Some of the research even states that no evidence was found that exotic stylus types prolong record life.

I was already having second thought about line-contact Stylii, because I like to switch cartridges: Even with interchangeable headshells it's still a chore to get Azimuth right every time, and with these line-contacts, even a fraction of a mm off means channel imbalance...

Lately i have also read several (well documented) stories about the potential dangers of using line contact stylii: the sides are so thin, they are prone to chipping, leaving sharp edges and drastically reducing contact area, which could cause damage very quickly.

This was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for me, I went back to my Denon DL110 and Ortofon Concorde 10, and am currently playing around with some cheap conicals to investigate if I could live with one, because they are apparently, the safest stylii for your records.
So far ther has been a bit top-end roll-off with a cheap Audio Technica AT91, but it works surprisingly well on my mostly new and well-cared vinyl, it tracks everything at 2 grams and sounds very musical.

Sorry for the long story, but I'd really like to know what others think about these things.

I gave this a thought a while ago, but then gave it some rest.

I understand this concern if one has a really small record collection that get regularly played. In this case, it's somewhat important.

But if you have a shit ton of records, each one gets played... maybe once in 4-5 months? Some records maybe even get played once a year if I think about it.

So if this is your case and you have that many records, get a stylus that gets the most out of your music and enjoy them to the fullest.

In reality, vinyl records are not so fragile and they are designed to last you a lifetime of regular playing, which again, if you have large collections, doesn't actually happen, does it?

You are right about record wear not being a real issue in most scenario's, but record damage from playing chipped microline stylii is a different matter. Their profile is so "flat" that when they take hit during play (miscue, damaged record, lump of dirt etc) pieces can get ripped out of the stylus, leavin a sharp jagged edge that could destroy a record very quickly. (A single play could be enough)
A couple of years ago some people studied used microline stylii with a microscope and found they looked like tiny saws after a while.

Microlines are also generally pretty expensive, which could cause me to not replace them in time, which could lead to playing record with a worn stylus, which could again lead to serious damage.
A 25€ Ortofon stylus 10, I just throw in the trash as soon as I don't trust it anymore.

Also, when switching headshells on my SL1200m5g (To play a mono record for example), with a line contact stylus, I found I had to get it exactly centred to get good channel balance, which is a real PITA on the Technics, since you have to lock a twisting ring into place, which makes it very hard to not twist the headshell while doing this. (It has the tendency to follow the locking ring, and if you try and compensate for this you usually overcompensate)

It's nothing definitive, just my personal story of coming full circle to the most simple stylus shapes.

I use a sumac Pearl Cart with a SME 3009 fixed tonearm on a Michell Focus One. In the last week I have finally learned how to tuned set it up after 8 years. Depends on on the turntable, tonearm and everything that the signal flows from there.
Did you check out the recent article by Vinyl Factory?
http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-fa ... icroscope/

Some great pictures in that link, I find it very interesting to see how various manufacturers use different ways to turn a standard square or round diamond tip into a more exotic stylus shape by shaving off various bits and pieces.

If you look at the first stylus in the drawn picture of the various stylus types (below the first photograph) and the 3rd picture below that (the "brownish" picture)you can clearly see the type of stylus I am having some concerns about: That small ridge on top is kept very thin for as long as possible, so that if it wears, it will still present a very narrow ridge and continue to be able to track the highest frequencies.
However, that ridge is quite fragile, and if it hits anything, a piece might chip off leaving sharp edges and a significantly reduces surface area.
I have some pictures somewhere of damage like this, with as much as 3/4 of a ridge missing on one side, leaving various jagged edges, and almost certainly causing sigificant damage to records.


I have actually been eyeing the Sumiko black Pearl as a light tracking conical, how do you like your "regular" Pearl (has an eliptical)?

Glad you found the link interesting. I don't know what the Black Pearl sounds, but the Pearl stylus has a (this is when it starts sounding like wine label descriptions) velvety sound. I have played a range of music using it but before I had set it up properly. The bass is very warm and resonant, it is a bit fluffy in the mids and the extreme highs tend to fizzle. I listen to a lot of electronic music from the 1950's through to the 1968 so the pressings may not be the best, nor do I have one of those fandango vacuum machines which are hideously expensive. For example, I recently played a 10 inch from 1954 that I payed to have cleaned, and after that is sounded like a time machine. The presence, colour and dynamics were like a hyper vivid photo.
In comparison to the Sumiko Pearl I was using a newly tipped Bang and Olufsen MMC 4 on a Beogram. Although the Elliptical retipp seemed much clearer in comparison to the Pearl I always felt that the MMC 4 sounded swamped in bass frequencies. There was less clarity in the attack in the vowel and consonant sounds.
Sorry for the overly descriptive language. Being a classically trained musician you become extremely sensitive to the nuances in sound.
From what I have read the Sumiko Pearl is good value for it the price range. The new stylus are not to expensive and are readily available compared to the Bang and Olufsen MMC range which cost minimum of 99 euro for a retipp.
Your ears will tell the story.

Thanks! I am going to try and find the Black pearl, sadly Amazon.de doesnt sell them.

As far as record cleaning:
I recently ordered a KAB EV-1 record cleaner from KABusa, it's basically a Nitty Gritty record cleaner without vacuum cleaner, you just connect your own home vacuum cleaner. I think it cost me around 200€ including shipping from the USA and some import duties. Still not cheap, but a lot less then a full blown vacuum record cleaner, and it works just as well.

I played around a bit back in the days and decided the following was true for me:

a) I don't have golden ears

b) the denon 103 hit the sweet spot for me for sonics, price and versatility (and I had a source for cheap ones )

c) groove wear shouldn't be a concern if you aren't doing it wrong. I have records from the 1950s that I *know* got a lot of play over the years still sound great. (my Dad's Carl Perkins records, for example).

d) I no longer was interested in fiddling with my system

but, this is all very personal and the 'd' point is an important one - if it is fun to swap and play, by all means keep doing it - but do it because it is fun, not because you are worried about anything.

as far as a cleaning machine goes, maybe I am lucky to be in the US, but the $425 I spent on my VPI 16.5 has more than paid for itself over the years.

All sounds very audiophile! Thankfully my ears appear shit as I have listened to some records 30-40 times and I cannot notice any sound difference.

Well, I wouldn't call it audiophile, stylus shapes is one of the areas in Hi-fi where biggest differences are to be found.
A conical stylus simply cannot trace certain grooves because it physically doesn't fit the groove modulation.

Stylus shape is a trade-off: Do you want maximum high frequency detail and minimum inner groove distortion? You gan get those with an exotic stylus shape, but installing them and getting the most of them can be very, VERY complicated, and when improperly set up, or damaged, they pose a much bigger risk to your records.
A conical stylus is much easier to install, much more resistant to damage, and if it's a high quality one, that doesn't track too heavy, is very gentle on your records, but you don't get the high frequency extension and tracking ability you get with the exotics. (They can still sound great though)

The standard eliptical is somewhere inbetween.

I use this:

That KAB EV-1 record cleaner looks perfect!