Difference between micro line and gyger s stylus


I see that Benz has switched from a micro line stylus tip to the gyger s stylus tip. What differences both in sound and set up should a person expect? Pro's and Con's on both are welcome.

Also, would one style work better or worse on my Naim ARO unipivot tonearm mounted on LP12?

Thank you,
Don
no_regrets

Showing 4 responses by jcarr

Hi Don:

Among cartridge manufacturers, "micro line" is used only to refer to the microline and microridge styli manufactured by Namiki Jewel. Among audiophiles, however, it appears to be used more broadly to designate advanced line-contact styli in general, which is wrong and a source of confusion.

The major hallmark of the microridge profile is that contact with the LP groove is achieved by side wings or ridges that protrude to either side of the stylus. If you could look at a microridge from directly above with a microscope, you would see that these ridges stand proud of the main section of the stylus, and have a very narrow side radius of 2.5um. Due to the small side radius, the microridge has better high-frequency capabilities than any other stylus shape, and due to the protruding nature of the ridges, the microridge can be worn perceptibly and still retain its high-frequency tracking capabilities. With other stylus profiles, wear causes the side radii to become bigger and bigger, and this means that the high-frequency tracking capabilities deteriorate.

However, there is more to a stylus than just the side radius. If you look at a line-contact stylus from the front, you will see that it is shaped like a spearhead with curved (convex) blades. This curvature is referred to as the major radius, and the shape and size determines the vertical length of the stylus' contact patch with the LP groove. The larger the major radius, the longer the contact patch becomes, but alignment becomes less tolerant of errors.

The the Ogura PA has major radius of 30~35um, the microridges have a major radius of about 70~75um, while stylii like the Replicant 120 and Gyger S will have a major radius of about 120um. As you can surmise, the microridges can track more of the groove than a PA, and a Gyger S can track even more of the groove (but will be trickier to set up).

OTOH, the Replicant 120 and Gyger S have a side radius of around 5~6um, about double that of the microridge. FWIW, the Ogura PA has about 3um. A larger side radius is kinder if you are playing records made of fragile materials (like molded styrene), but the larger side radius will fit less well into very high frequency groove undulations, which get smaller the shorter the signal wavelength (IOW, the higher the frequency).

In summary, rather than what is better or worse, these stylus profiles were designed with different philosophies and priorities, and different styli may be preferred depending on what the cartridge designer wants to achieve for a specific model.

The longer major radius of the Gyger S suggests that you will need to be more careful of azimuth during setup, while the microridge won't be quite so demanding in this respect (but more so than with a PA). Molded styrene records may be OK with the Gyger S, but should be kept away away from cartridges with microridge or PA styli.

regards and hth, jonathan carr (lyra cartridge designer)
Arnold: I've had the same sad experiences as you, and I've also had inquiries from customers asking about the suitability of our cartridges for use with polystyrene records. I have therefore looked into the matter in some detail.

But I don't use Gyger stylii in production, and my hand-on experience with stylii with side radii in the 5~6um range is not as extensive as side radii in the 2.5~3um range. I _believe_ that 5~6um is large enough for molded styrene records, but perhaps larger side radii are more suitable. If other Audiogoners have experiences with Gyger stylii (or other stylii with side radii in the 5~6um range) on styrene records, I would very much appreciate hearing about those experiences.

Don, AFAIR, molded styrene was used primarily by Columbia Records for doughnut 45rpm singles which were manufactured in the mid-60s. If any one else can add to this information or correct it if it is wrong, I would appreciate it.

best to all, jonathan carr
Thank you, Arnold. AFAIR, the styrene records that I handled were from an earlier time than yours, so it is good to know that there are more labels and time periods to watch out for. FWIW, I believe that molded styrene was used to save production costs.

I wonder if there is a URL which discusses these styrene records at length (labels, time periods, artists etc.) It would also be interesting to know if all styrene records behave in pretty much the same manner (regardless of production era or label), or some can better withstand a small side-radius stylus than others.

Records turning white as they are played is not a pretty sight!

regards, jonathan carr
Arnold, very interesting! In my experiments, changing the stylus from a small side radius (including an microridge) to a larger one kept styrene records from being chewed up. Other parameters were kept the same, so I have fair confidence that the size of the side radius is a core factor.

And yet there are individuals like yourself who report being able to play styrene records with microridge stylii and get no damage. 'Tis a mystery.

The V15VxMR had low vertical tracking force requirements, so that could be one factor.

Also, if you look at the second table here http://www.shure.com/proaudio/products/djphonocartridgesandneedles/ssLINK/us_pro_djlibrary_phonograph

you can see that while the 3.0mil front radius computes to 75um (which is per Namiki's design), the side radius of 0.15 computes to 3.75 (larger than Namiki's original design specifications of 2.5um).

It could be that Shure uses a variant of the MR modified to have a larger side radius.

regards, jonathan carr