Conical Versus Elliptical Stylus

[1979TDKAD-C90]

Which stylus do you people prefer? Conical or elliptical? I have used both in my lifetime, one is a Shure N92e elliptical stylus and the other is a Technics EPS-34CS.

Shure N92e: Rich highs, much less noise and is better at handling damaged or dirty records.

Technics EPS-34CS: Unreliable frequency response, sometimes it is crisp, but others, like on my Bob Segar "Like A Rock" album sounds all worn with the highs sounding distorted. Can often skip or get stuck on light scratches or specs of dust on a record. Noise can be horrendous, even on a clean record.

[DaveInVA]

I used to use a Denon DL-103 conical on a Empire 598 and they were a great match in fact about as good as it can get using a fairly heavy arm like what's on the 598. In my experience it had less noise than some of the elliptical cartridges I had tried on it. Another plus is that VTA was much of a factor in setup.
That being said I after using dozens of cartridges over the years the very best sounding ones are cartridges that have ruby or sapphire short reach cantilevers and elliptical styluses such as the Dynavector 17 and 23 series and the Sumiko Talisman/Alchemist "S" series. Once you hear those its hard to go back. The stiff cantilevers and shorter reach (that further lowers mass) just really bring out detail that you never knew was there.
Also, I found that narrower profiles (like 0.2 X 0.8) seem to bring out less surface damage noise as they must track slightly lower down the groove walls

Dave

[Pacific Stereo]

A conical stylus is the simplest, least expensive type of stylus, and is a major compromise when it comes to reproduction.

An elliptical, or better still, a modified elliptical/line-contact type of stylus will be significantly better. No serious audiophile runs a conical stylus under any circumstance, except when playing shellac 78 RPM records.

That said, there are all sorts of things that go into cartridge design besides diamond shape. Suspension, cantilever length, cantilever shape and cantilever material are all factors, as is even the way the diamond is attached to the cantilever. Add in magnetic design, coil and body design, and one has an infinite number of interactions that affect sound.

Better cartridges sound better, and are definitely worth the money.

[Rat44]

I think they all need to be nude Shibata.

[1979TDKAD-C90]

I think they all need to be nude Shibata.

Amen to that! Does it read dirt and damage well?

[Rat44]

Shibata 'usually' due well on used records because they ride in a part of the grove that has not been used before.
Many of the newer microline style offer the same benefits,the contact area is spread out over a larger area.

[vinyldavid]

This sounds like a thing we've talked about before *grin*

Personally I like elliptical and shibata. Both are excellent and can deliver good performance.

As fa as damaged/dirty records go, it's a crap shoot. Clean them properly, or live with the noise.

[Bob Boyer]

or... clean them properly AND live with the noise. *grin*

[Fast Forward]

I think a proper set-up is just as or maybe more important than the cartridge, I ve got a pretty fair setup for my Yamaha D-8 great isolation a little upscale in the wiring and a decent pre-amp,, that being said I use an old Grado F3+ with a conical stylus scrounged from a Thorens I also have 5 other setups That I have tested and I found the Grado with the Conical to be extremely Quite especially playing Old Vinyl that has seen better days

[1979TDKAD-C90]

I think a proper set-up is just as or maybe more important than the cartridge, I ve got a pretty fair setup for my Yamaha D-8 great isolation a little upscale in the wiring and a decent pre-amp,, that being said I use an old Grado F3+ with a conical stylus scrounged from a Thorens I also have 5 other setups That I have tested and I found the Grado with the Conical to be extremely Quite especially playing Old Vinyl that has seen better days

Interesting. So, I guess I just own a piece of junk stylus and turntable.

[Fast Forward]

Interesting. So, I guess I just own a piece of junk stylus and turntable.I don,t get your response ,,my comment simply pointed out the need to make sure you have a proper set-up regardless of WHAT system or cartridge You have ,, I dare say there are members of this forum that have systems that would put my set-up to shame,,FF

[JaeTee]

On this subject, has anyone here ever tried one of the Pfanstiehl replacement stylii for Ortofon?

They are made in Switzerland, and they make a low cost eliptical replacement for the common OM or Concord-type cartridges....

anyone here familiar with these??? (http://cgi.ebay.com/DUAL-ORTOFON-OM-LM-STY-5-5E-STY-7-15-20-30-STYLUS-/290451629583?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a044260f)

[vinyldavid]

On this subject, has anyone here ever tried one of the Pfanstiehl replacement stylii for Ortofon?

They are made in Switzerland, and they make a low cost eliptical replacement for the common OM or Concord-type cartridges....

anyone here familiar with these??? (http://cgi.ebay.com/DUAL-ORTOFON-OM-LM-STY-5-5E-STY-7-15-20-30-STYLUS-/290451629583?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a044260f)

Pfanstiethl is total crap. They make the cheapest stylii possible, oftentimes advertised as being compatible with cartridges that they are actually not.

[JaeTee]

Pfanstiethl is total crap. They make the cheapest stylii possible, oftentimes advertised as being compatible with cartridges that they are actually not.

I figured as much... thanks.

[1979TDKAD-C90]

I often don't trust non-big names.

[JXBJXB]

I figured as much... thanks.

I think in general Pfanstiehl-made styli are supposed to be awful. However, I believe the company also repackaged -genuine- replacement styli, so in those particular cases then I wouldn't worry if it was a real stylus in a Pfanstiehl package.

I am not familiar with the various Ortofon models (the only cart I have ever owned from them was an X5-MC which obviously didn't need a replacement stylus) but JICO makes excellent third-party styli and they have a lot of Ortofon models. I only have experience with their Shure replacements, and have yet to be disappointed in quality. Their styli sound at least as good as the originals, and in some cases (SAS) better.