Doug - Thanks for posting those photos. I've never seen such a close up shot like that before. Very cool!
Colin
Colin
Does size really matter? :-
I've seen stylus size discussed in regards to 78s and mono records, but never as it pertains to our good old stereo LPs. I was recently looking at cartridge specs, and was astonished by the difference in the size of the styli. Let's take, for example, 3 cartridges I'm considering:
Sumiko Blackbird Elliptical 0.3 x 0.7 mm
Dynavector 17D2MKll Karat Square .06 x .06 mm
Zyx Bloom Line Contact 6 x 35 um
Converting the first two to um from mm, we get this:
Sumiko 300 x 700
Dynavector 60 x 60
Zyx 6 x 35
This indicates the Sumiko is 50x wider and 20x longer than the Zyx! The Dynavector is between them. Even allowing for the different stylus profiles, this seems like an enormous difference in stylus size. Am I missing something?
I've read in other threads that the Zyx owners talk about the Zyx getting deeper into the groove, retrieving more info and, more importantly, contacting a section of the groove that, in the case of used records, previous styli haven't touched. Considering the above figures, these statements now make much more sense.
My big question is, why don't more manufacturers use the smaller styli? Are there advantages to larger styli that I'm missing? It doesn't seem like cost should be a factor, as the Zyx above is a US$490 cartridge. Do the smaller styli wear quicker? Easier to break? Harder to align?
Just wanting to get A'goner's thoughts. If there's a previous thread, please point me to it - I did a search, but didn't come up with anything relevant. Thanks.
David
Sumiko Blackbird Elliptical 0.3 x 0.7 mm
Dynavector 17D2MKll Karat Square .06 x .06 mm
Zyx Bloom Line Contact 6 x 35 um
Converting the first two to um from mm, we get this:
Sumiko 300 x 700
Dynavector 60 x 60
Zyx 6 x 35
This indicates the Sumiko is 50x wider and 20x longer than the Zyx! The Dynavector is between them. Even allowing for the different stylus profiles, this seems like an enormous difference in stylus size. Am I missing something?
I've read in other threads that the Zyx owners talk about the Zyx getting deeper into the groove, retrieving more info and, more importantly, contacting a section of the groove that, in the case of used records, previous styli haven't touched. Considering the above figures, these statements now make much more sense.
My big question is, why don't more manufacturers use the smaller styli? Are there advantages to larger styli that I'm missing? It doesn't seem like cost should be a factor, as the Zyx above is a US$490 cartridge. Do the smaller styli wear quicker? Easier to break? Harder to align?
Just wanting to get A'goner's thoughts. If there's a previous thread, please point me to it - I did a search, but didn't come up with anything relevant. Thanks.
David