Differences between Conical, Elliptical, Fine Line Styli

[zenaudio]

Interesting and informative article.
https://sites.google.com/site/zevaudio/turt/stylus-shape-information

[Voltraizer]

some interesting points to consider:

Apparently according to Jico (manufacturer of the highly regarded SAS stylus), the amount of playing time where a stylus will maintain its specified level of distortion at 15kHz is as follows:

Spherical / Conical - 150hrs
Eliptical - 250hrs
Shibata/Line contact - 400hrs
SAS/MicrRidge - 500hrs

SUMMARY

In pure sonic terms on pristine vinyl a top notch eliptical can do as well as all but the very best Line Contact / Shibata styli, but will ultimately be surpassed by the better MicroLine styli.

However in terms of reduced wear on both stylus and records - the entry point is the Line contact / Shibata category.

In terms of playing back worn vinyl line contact stylus types also have an advantage in that they can contact "virgin" unworn vinyl.

Narrower side radius = improved tracking and reduced high frequency distortion

[troporobo]

Easy - one sounds a lot better than the others. I'll let you guys argue over which one!