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How Important is Stylus Shape?

In a post below (in the Are Cartridges Better Today thread) Anthony (flood2) asserts that in the Audio Technica line of cartridges cost cutting has moved the current top of the line cartridges (costing in the neighborhood of $1000) to a stylus called "special line contact" that measures 7 x 40 um. These are radii, the smaller number being the contact radius. Some of the less expensive, but older, cartridges in the line use a micro-line stylus that he asserts measures between 1 and 2 um, though I cannot find that figure in any AT literature.

In any event, though some cartridge manufacturers specify a shape yielding a smaller contact radius, there are a number of high kilobuck cartridges using radii similar to the AT special line contact. Among these are the Clearaudio da Vinci ($5500) 8 x 40 um, Dynavector XV-1S ($5450) 7 x 30 um and the Shelter Harmony ($5495) 7.6 x 40 um. I suppose there may be differences among these styli and the AT, but their radii are similar.

So the question I would ask is whether these stylus shapes limit high end performance from a PRACTICAL rather than a THEORETICAL view, notwithstanding very high prices and very favorable reviews.

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Topic - How Important is Stylus Shape? - Mel 08:45:25 02/01/16 (60)
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