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Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

Here's my take on this subject:

1. A 1.0 mil conical stylus will extract less detail than a 0.7 elliptical as it can't get into the nooks and crannies of high frequencies - so you'll get a "warmer sound".

2. Once stereo reared its ugly head it's probable/inevitable that companies used the same cutting stylus for mono and stereo. Very early mono LPs may have used slightly larger profiles. Other factors to consider are how worn the cutter and stampers were for your particular copy of each record.

3. If you can get hold of a copy of the UK Hi-Fi Yearbook for 1958, on pages 9 and 10 there are photographs of the wear caused by 0.5 and 1.0 mil styli in the same mono groove at a VTF of 3 grams. Cecil Watts concluded that the 1.0 mil couldn't trace the mono groove as accurately as the 0.5. You can see that the 1.0 mil inflicted more damage. Greater tip mass and the lack of vertical compliance in the cartridge suspension could also be factors here.

4. I have 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0 mil conical styli for my Shure M44 cartridges as well as 0.7 ellipticals. The 0.5 works well in very clean unworn mono LPs. The 1.0 works better with worn records but only where the damage has been caused by a smaller stylus and the 1.0 can ride above the damaged part of the groove.

5. I've settled on 0.7 mil of various types for almost all of my vinyl listening, they're listed on my main system page.

6. FWIW I suggest you keep your 1.0 mil stylus for any worn or damaged mono LPs and play the rest with your stereo tip. So long as the 1.0 mil is in good condition, the trace it leaves will be above that of your stereo tip.

7. In the end only you can decide what sounds best in your system and what you prefer. Forget about microscopes and use your ears.

I hope this helps, enjoy your records.


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  Michael Percy Audio  


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  • Here's my take on this subject: - richardz 05/25/0904:00:08 05/25/09 (0)

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