Spherical or Elliptical?? - TranceAddict Forums

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-- Spherical or Elliptical??

Posted by fzrr on Sep-04-2002 07:10:

Spherical or Elliptical??

Ok i'm sure this has been asked before...but which is better for your vinyl...Spherical or Elliptical? Or is it entirely up to the tracking weight??

I can get Shure M44G's which are Spherical and track between 0.75-1.5 grams

or

Ortofon OM DJ E which are Elliptical and track between 2.0-4.0 grams

Both are the same price??

Posted by TonY on Sep-04-2002 09:09:

Here is some info.
I didn't wrote this i copyied this for www.platinum.ac/forums/ page.

Elliptical Stylii

PLUSES I baby my records. An elliptical stylus on a properly-adjusted cartridge mated with a good
carbon-fiber record brush will extend the life of your record collection (as compared to spherical),
yield a higher frequency response, and track incredibly-well while being played in a forward direction.
Records that would skip while being played on a spherical stylus usually will not experience those
same skips on an elliptical stylus.

MINUSES Dust. You NEED to use a record brush. Vinyl heats up to 300 degrees Fahrenheight
momentarily as the stylus passes through the grooves. Elliptical stylus dig very deep in the groove, bringing dust, smoke, etc to the surface. Since the vinyl deforms under normal playing, it's
important to prevent dust from getting trapped in the groove (and baked onto the stylus). The other
downside to elliptical styli is the fact that they shouldn't be used for scratching. While they will track like a champ, they'll eat the crap out of your vinyl (both resulting from that large contact area).

Spherical Stylii
PLUSES Easy to find. Cheaper than their elliptical counterparts. They won't wear your records as much
during intense scratching/backcueing. Rugged. Good if your collection is beat-up and old.

MINUSES Reduced dynamic range. Not as cool. Don't track as well. They will wear your records more
during normal playback.

I hope this helps.

Posted by fzrr on Sep-04-2002 23:32:

Cheers mate, that helps a heap. For general all round use it sounds like i'm better off going for the spherical ones. With the very light tracking force required for the M44g's it seems like you get a good compromise.

Posted by pnuemo on Sep-05-2002 06:35:

tony, thank you for posting that... thats a world of info, and it explains EXACTLY which stylus i need... i appreciate it!

Posted by MERiDiAN5i2 on Sep-06-2002 18:52:

definitly good info. sounds like i'll stick with spherical, eliptical just doesnt seem worth the money.

The better dynamic range and all is appealing - makes me want to buy one eliptical cartridge just for when I record my records to digital format (i do this incase my records ever get destroyed/lost/stolen and can't be replaced)

-mer