[78-L] 78 rpm stylus question

[David Lennick]

The one stylus I have that came from Expert is a 2.0 mil TE and it hisses like 
mad, and 95% of the time tracks far worse (i.e. with molto distortion) than my 
ancient original Stanton 2.1 . There have been a few exceptions where it 
provided the best sound, and these were on Victor Program Transcriptions. 
Otherwise I regard it as a bad investment and a bad testimonial to their 
product, but I realize that's not a fair judgment. Nevertheless, if the first 
one you get stinks, you're not going to go back for another.

dl

On 1/7/2013 10:36 AM, Bryan Wright wrote:
> Occasionally when I buy new 78 styli (either from Esoteric Sound or
> Expert Stylus), I get one that sounds "different." I usually order
> truncated elliptical styli in sizes ranging from 2.0 mil to 4.0 mil.
> I'm accustomed to the general "sound" these styli provide, and I know
> what I should be hearing. However, once in a while I get a new stylus
> that produces sound with a light constant "hiss" and a greatly pinched
> frequency range in which the highs seem to be greatly reduced or
> virtually gone. I've encountered this same general "altered sound" on
> about one out of every three or four new styli, and it can affect any
> sized stylus. Rather than try to describe it further, I've posted an
> audio sample with four brief clips:
>
> http://www.bryanswright.com/2013-stylus-test.wav
>
> 1. The first 15 seconds is played with a "normal" 3.0mil TE stylus
> 2. The next 15 seconds is the same record with a stylus as I describe
> above (in this case, a 2.8mil TE stylus)
> 3. The next 20-25 seconds is another record with the "normal" 3.0mil
> TE stylus
> 4. The final 20-25 seconds is the same record with the "problem"
> 2.8mil TE stylus
>
> I don't have a microscope to examine these two styli carefully to see
> what might be causing the different sound. Does anyone here know? Is
> the 2.8mil stylus in the audio excerpt defective? It isn't always
> "worse" (sometimes, the reduced frequency range is a blessing on
> really worn records), but in general, I much prefer the sound of the
> stylus in the first example above. It sounds much more "open" and
> "natural" to my ears.
>
> Thanks,
> Bryan W.
>