Recent content by ray_parkhurst

The REF stylus purpose is twofold: ensure test record consistency; and give a reference vs the DUT. How do the DUT and REF responses compare at this point?

It looks like we need to reset the process a bit. @BMRR had to give up the original Pluto preamp to get access to the Pluto2, and was not able to complete #2 and #4 from the original recording list. The Pluto2 looks to be giving a flatter response at LF, and eliminates the odd HF response, so...

We have 5 recordings to compare: 1. T0 on DUT with Pluto 1 2. T24 on DUT with Pluto 1 3. T24 on DUT with Pluto 2 4. T0 on REF with Pluto 1 5. T0 on REF with Pluto 2 I'm most interested in comparing #1 vs #2 (to see if 24 hrs of wear has done anything), #2 vs #3 (to see if there are...

Yes, they seem to. Within this thread and in others I've read and participated in. It may actually be true, but I don't know why.,

I think many folks can describe the possible mechanisms that would result in the (fundamental) response to decrease with wear. @JP did so above. But I am not sure of the explanation for the response to increase. Many folks seem to believe it could/will happen, so I'm wondering if anyone has a...

For sure. If that's a hoard, not sure what you'd call my collection. Maybe I better consider selling some of it off to help finance my retirement!

Yes, I suspect this may be true, if everything else (VTF, AS, etc) is set up correctly. High VTF combined with dirty records has got to be a stylus killer.

I just did a glamor shot of an Ortofon Quintet Black S with a beautiful sapphire cantilever, check it out:

I've done the imaging of the DUT stylus at T24 (24hr), and as expected can see no wear. One image I take, but rarely publish, is looking straight down at the tip. This is the same view that is used with the Shure method, but instead of lighting from the side, I use the 45-deg ringlight to...

Yes, H2 is rising to a resonant peak of -3dB! I'm actually not sure how that is possible, the physical mechanism of having both elevated fundamental and H2. It is very interesting indeed.

Will be good to see what a NOS stylus measures on the same cartridge. If it has +2dB response, then the -2dB here means a 4dB degradation. Plus, that stylus just appears worn, not chiseled quite yet. It may not even be hitting bottom. The contact flats still appear "oval" shaped.

A larger minor radius has narrower FR. When new, even a 0.7mil conical can reasonably trace a 20kHz outer groove. But pretty quickly the contacts will wear, and the response will start to drop (and distortion increase) at higher frequencies. In the limit, the tip will wear to a wide chisel, and...

Yes, higher than 20kHz. Odd that you would not know Shibata was invented for CD-4.

This seems a strange statement. Wear increases contact length, reducing the ability for the stylus to fit in shorter (higher frequency) grooves. It's the same phenomenon that makes a Shibata stylus have wider FR vs a 0.3mil elliptical, which is wider than a 0.7mil conical.

Your experiment to measure a series of styli with varying amounts of wear and correlate FR/distortion is most welcome. Should give the community some good data to help with replacement decisions. We're hoping our experiment will do a similar thing, though our primary goal is still to determine...