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Is elliptical the best stylus profile

In my experiences, it seems that elliptical shaped stylus track better and pretty much have the same amount of detail that a line contact has, maybe a little less.  The difference, again in my experience is that the line contact needs to be set up perfectly for good performance.  How many of us are experts at setup.  Cartridge manufacturers, Why not just use elliptical shape and give everybody a break? 
tzh21y
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
@tzh21y 

omg the stylus I am listening to is a line contact.  lol.  It is better than Micro ridge, thats for sure.  lol.  Sorry for the post.  Thought it was an elliptical

Ahahaha 

That's exactly was i tried to say about Line Contact / Shibata for old vinyl. Those records were played by cheap conical and elliptical most of the time by previous owners. But the Line Contact / Shibata goes deeper in the groove to achieve previously untouched (by conical and elliptical) area of the groove walls. That's why it's always better to use Line Contact or Shibata for vintage/old/used records in my opinion. 
tzh21y OP
1,377 posts
 
I would have to agree wholeheartedly with that for sure
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Wouldn’t a Shibata ride higher in the groove than an elliptical or conical due to its much larger primary radius?
ronco
12 posts
 
Nope. The ’wedge’ profile of the Shibata allows it to ride deeper in the groove. A conical stylus, by comparison has a fatter cross-section.
luizfcoimbra's avatar
luizfcoimbra
25 posts
 
@chakster and @rauliruegas in your experience, is there any correlation between stylus shape and a specific alignment method for setting up the cart? In other words, did you ever notice if baerwald or lofgren tends to work better with a given styli? 
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