RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link.

Posted by flood2 (A) on January 12, 2021 at 22:49:53

In Reply to: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. posted by viridian on January 12, 2021 at 08:37:14:

Interesting article which suggests that the stylus choice is largely based around subjective rather than objective criteria.
Given that the body is identical and that the only difference is the attached stylus, the results clearly indicate that there is more than just the stylus being changed - the amount of damping must also be adjusted since the frequency response charts clearly show that the Microline had the flattest response whilst the Shibata and SLC tips had a very prominent lift in the brilliance band. From a technical standpoint, the Shibata and SLC have a much larger scanning radius which immediately puts them at a disadvantage in tracing high amplitude HF signals particularly near the inner groove. I would hazard a guess and say that the listening tests would have been conducted in favourable regions of the LP otherwise the ML would sound better on the inner grooves. Shure's research suggests that it doesn't matter what the "cut" of the stylus is, the distortion and tracing ability is largely defined by the scanning radius. There must also be some differences in the tip mass - I know that the SLC tips fit in a laser cut hole in the boron cantilevers for the OC9X lineup whereas the ML is bonded which means the shank sizes are different. I wouldn't mind betting that this must be one of the key differences affecting the subjective preference for the SLC given that a lower tip mass would result in a subjectively cleaner and more lively sound which is how the SLC models are often described.

All of which is to say, that the best technical performance doesn't translate to the best sujective assessment....but then we all know that from our collective experience in this hobby!
Regards Anthony

"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - viridian 08:37:14 01/12/21 (7)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - flood2 22:49:53 01/12/21 (6)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - dave slagle 06:41:29 01/13/21 (5)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - sser2 12:05:40 01/15/21 (2)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - BillWojo 10:52:42 01/17/21 (1)

Not to mention the Technics SL-1200 arms. Nt. - MWE 15:43:28 01/17/21 (0)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - flood2 12:19:28 01/13/21 (1)

I load my AT150mlx at around 36K, and it seems... - MWE 16:13:01 01/13/21 (0)

Follow Ups

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - flood2 22:49:53 01/12/21 (6)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - dave slagle 06:41:29 01/13/21 (5)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - sser2 12:05:40 01/15/21 (2)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - BillWojo 10:52:42 01/17/21 (1)

Not to mention the Technics SL-1200 arms. Nt. - MWE 15:43:28 01/17/21 (0)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link. - flood2 12:19:28 01/13/21 (1)

I load my AT150mlx at around 36K, and it seems... - MWE 16:13:01 01/13/21 (0)

RE: An interesting look at radical stylus profiles. Link.

Post a Message!