I have posted about this briefly in another thread. The Soundsmith Strain Gauge cart system allows one to interchange different stylus profiles within a few seconds. Changing between the Optimized Contour and Nude Line contact styli with the same cart is extremely revealing of the different ways the stylus contact the groove wall.
Now before I continue, I must state that I have now transitioned from mere audiophile hobbyist, to being a dealer for a few brands, the Strain Gauge being one of them.
With the Optimized contour, you literally feel like you are riding down that canyon of LP groove - there is so much information and intimacy.
But this is obviously for LP's in good shape. Groove damage is evident.
Switching to the nude line contact glosses over some of the information, but sometimes this is quite a blessing. With less than ideal LP's (both noisy used LP's and poorer recordings) at times this profile can be more musical.
So to answer the question posed by this thread, I feel that on certain LP's yes, going to less of an extreme profile can result in lower distortion. But on the majority of LPs in good shape, I prefer the Optimized Contour and am not getting distortion.
Now before I continue, I must state that I have now transitioned from mere audiophile hobbyist, to being a dealer for a few brands, the Strain Gauge being one of them.
With the Optimized contour, you literally feel like you are riding down that canyon of LP groove - there is so much information and intimacy.
But this is obviously for LP's in good shape. Groove damage is evident.
Switching to the nude line contact glosses over some of the information, but sometimes this is quite a blessing. With less than ideal LP's (both noisy used LP's and poorer recordings) at times this profile can be more musical.
So to answer the question posed by this thread, I feel that on certain LP's yes, going to less of an extreme profile can result in lower distortion. But on the majority of LPs in good shape, I prefer the Optimized Contour and am not getting distortion.