Looking for a good modern reproducer for Edison DD

[JB Brown]

Hello,

I have a modern turntable that goes up to 80 rpm. I was wondering if anyone here had a recommendation for the best stylus for playing Edison Diamond Discs?

Thanks,
Jarret

[OrthoSean]

I've found that there is not one "be all and end all" sized stylus for DDs played back on modern equipment. I use several different ones that I have on hand for regular 78s, but trial and error helps. Sometimes an LP stylus works best, other times my 2.5 mil is good, others still need a larger like a 4.0. You just have to experiment, it varies from disc to disc, even side to side.

Sean

[victorIIvictor]

Jarret,

Sean offers excellent advice, but if you are limiting yourself to a single stylus for electrical playback of Edison Diamond Discs, Expert Stylus recommends a 3.7 mil conical-tip stylus (the profile of the stylus overall is elliptical, with only the tip being conical).
If you wish to expand your selection of styli from there, use the range suggested by Sean.

Best wishes, Mark

[JB Brown]

Thank you both. Much appreciated!

JB

[need4art]

I have been playing around with this a bit and found that a 1 mil stylus does a much better job. If you look at Nauks website and look at the chart for sound eq it shows a 1 mil stylus for Edison records. I had ordered a Shure M78s to play standard 78's and called and talked to a very friendly Shure tech. On his advice I ordered a M44-7 1 mil stylus and trimmed the ears a bit with my dremel tool as he suggested to get it to fit right. There is a marked improvement with the 1 mil over the 2.5 mil in both noise and sound.
Abe

[OrthoSean]

I agree, Abe, the smaller styli tend to be better although it does seem to depend. I know the 3.6 conical is recommended by Expert, I have a 3.5 conical and it's one of the worst for Edisons, so I'm not sure if someone has a hearing issue or what...

I've also got a 1.1 and 1.3 that I use for mono LPs and 45s which is great for DDs as well. A regular .7 mil LP stylus should be just fine though, I wouldn't go spending over $100 for a custom mono stylus if you only wanted it for DDs.

I don't have much experience with new Shure products. After they discontinued their old 2.5 mil 78 stylus and replaced it with a cheap one that can't track over 2 grams, I went with Stanton who's product is much more sturdy than Shure, although I do still have a few M44s and an SC35 fitted with the old SS78 stylus that you can't get any longer.

Sean

[phonojim]

Gary Stork's VM Audio Enthusiasts of Northville, Mi http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/default.asp offers a great selection of new styli for relatively modern cartridges such as the M-44. I use an old m44 with a 3 mil conical for 78s/Edisons. The one I use came from there, I like it quite well and the price is in the $20.00 range. An LP stylus such as a 1 mil conical will work well with DDs also, but whatever you use,the cart must be wired for for vertical. I have a vertical/lateral switch mounted right on my turntable. Works very well.

Jim