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Mono Cartridge Stylus

So a while back there was a thread about mono cartridges like the Miyajima. There was some confusion about stylus size and what should be used for mono re-pressings versus the original mono pressings.

So Miyajima claims that their 0.7 stylus is optimal for modern mono re-pressings and that their 1.0 stylus is for those earlier mono pressings that began in 1950. Columbia introduced the Microgroove pressing in 1948. The Microgroove pressing offers 300-400 grooves per inch and AI claims that the correct stylus for these pressings is 0.7. I will say that I don't believe Miyajima to be entirely wrong, as there were labels that still used wider grooves however, I believe nearly all of the major labels eventually adopted the Microgroove band width thus making it the norm by the early to mid 1950's.

goofyfoot
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,426 posts
 

This is why I posted the preferred stylus size of 0.7 for Microgroove pressings. Miyajima overlooks the Microgroove pressing altogether. I have a fairly large mono vinyl collection and most of them are Microgroove. I'd say one eighth of my collection is modern re-pressings. I'm currently using a 1.0 sized elliptical stylus and haven't had any noticeable issues but if I were to order another mono cartridge, I believe the 0.7 stylus would make the most sense. Or if there's a stylus size between 0.7 and 1.0, that might even be better.

kennyc
1,991 posts
 

Miyajima overlooks the Microgroove pressing altogether. 

?? Miyajima mono carts come in both .7 and 1.0, what did they overlook (miss?) 

goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,426 posts
 

@kennyc I'm referring to their description as to what stylus type is best for what type of pressing.

About stylus size of Zero MONO
0.7mil is suitable for reissue monaural LP and a monaural LP of after 1960.
1.0mil is suitable for the monaural LP of a deep groove of the first press of the 1950s.
However, both styli can trace the monaural LP of all generations without a problem.
When you listen to the monaural LP of all generations, we recommend 0.7mil.
When you listen to a monaural LP of the first press of the 1950s mainly, we recommend 1.0mil.

 

billstevenson
587 posts
 

It is not clear to me why you are confused.  Actually, I don't believe you are confused, rather it seems you have figured this out correctly.  Since the majority of your mono records are Microgroove the best stylus option for you is 0.7 mil. 

goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,426 posts
 

@billstevenson There was confusion on a previous thread about the difference between Microgroove mono pressings and the earliest vinyl mono pressings. Even though I mentioned on that previous thread, that Microgroove pressings had a narrower band width than the early mono pressings that weren't Microgroove, it appeared as though none of us knew what stylus would be best for Microgroove records. When I was able to sort it out and get this information (assuming that AI is correct), I wanted to post it so that other monophiles also understood the differences. I didn't want to keep it all to myself, what fun would that be?

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