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Stereo cartridges, mono records, stylus sizes - some experiments

I'd like to add my thoughts to the recent questions and debates and get your comments.

First - comparing styli types on mono and stereo records.

Using 4 carts & tips -
a: Ortofon MC25FL 0.0007" fine line (Garrard 301 & Michell Tecnoarm)
b: Shure M55E 0.0007" elliptical
c: Shure M44-7 0.0007" conical
d: Shure M44-7 0.0011x0.0003" elliptical retip(for DGG 78s)(b,c & d Garrard 401 & SME 3009/II)

into an Elberg multicurve phono preamp:

1. 1980s Stereo EMI LP:
a: excellent detail and some wear
b: good detail and some wear
c: less detail and wear
d: good detail but slight loss of bass notes - no wear.

2. early 50s mono RCA LP:
a: excellent detail and wear
b: good detail and some wear
c: less detail and wear
d: good detail some wear

I generally find that mono LPs in good condition work best with the better stereo tip shapes. Worn records generally work better with conical ones.

So much depends on wear that the record has suffered. If the damage happened in the 50s and 60s with a .001" point, a stereo .0007" is likely to ride below most or all of of the damage and the record will sound better than appearances suggest. The opposite could be true of a stereo record with damage caused by a .0005" tip - the .0007" should ride above most of the wear.

So the best advice is to have a range of tips and use whatever sounds right.

Is there definitive evidence that mono and stereo LPs have different groove sizes or different cutting styli were used- I don't think that the record companies would go to the expense of keeping separate tips when one would do both.

As I see it the move to elliptical and smaller tips was to extract more detail from mono records - wasn't the Leak Dynamic pick-up supplied with elliptical LP AND 78 heads in the mid-fifties before stereo? When stereo did arrive the .0005" tip was needed to extract greater detail from each groove wall and to reduce mistracking. A stereo groove may be narrower in parts than a mono one because the signals from both channels can call for a simultaneous inbound and upward cut. A non-conical tip should reduce this pinch effect. Mono and stereo silent grooves should be identical which is possibly why the .0007" was produced as a compromise and became the standard.

Second - Stereo cartridges and mono records -

The 45 degree angle orientation of a stereo cartridge has an effect on mono lateral cut records -

Playing lateral cut 78s and mono LPs in stereo or with only one channel switched in with a stereo cartridge produces deeper bass, but also increases any rumble present in the recording. Switching to both channels but with the mono switch in cuts bass, rumble, wear noise and output.

Playing vertical cut mono records in stereo produces deeper bass and, due to the 180 degree phase difference between channels of the stereo cartridge, produces pseudo-stereo (From 1915 issued Pathes!) and a lot of surface hiss. Playing one channel only keeps the hiss, reduces output and obviously is mono only. Playing both channels with the mono switch in only produces surface noise. Using the vertical cut switch with both channels of the stereo cartridge reduces hiss and wear and produces the best sound.

Third - experiments with stereo records -
Playing stereo LPs with the vertical cut switch in produces all the treble information and groove wall wear, while the lateral bass notes disappear.

Playing stereo LPs with the mono switch in reduces bass and output.

A long post and I don't know if I am confusing or helping.

Over to you.


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Topic - Stereo cartridges, mono records, stylus sizes - some experiments - richardz 11:00:40 01/28/08 (1)

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