2. analog
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shibata or microline, pls respond ONLY if you specifically have tried both.

I only want to hear FIRST hand experience, not lecturing please.

These two seem too confusing to me.  I have a VM540ML AT cartridge and cannot decide whether Shibata or Microline is better.  AGAIN, PLS DO NOT LECTURE ME ABOUT **OTHER** EXPENSIVE CARTRIDGES.

To me obviously the music quality matters.  However, I also give a lot of importance to how durable one stylus over the other one is AND very importantly, which one is easier (less finnicky) to set up.  Also, it is important that the stylus does not degrade the vinyl excessively.

If you tell me an elliptical is easiest to set up but is 10% less musical, I would probably go with that too.

So.... any ACTUAL experience with either of these two styli ?

Thanks

cakyol
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I am not sure that people compared Shibata and MicroLine on the SAME CARTRIDGE to say that Shibata is better.

When we’re comparing one cartridge with Shibata to another cartridge with MicroLine it is not fair comparison.

I don’t think you have to worry about setup with Audiomods tonearm. You just need a proper protractor.

I can’t remember any difficulties with MicroLine stylus, the best ever AT cartridges such as AT-ML170 and AT-ML180 comes with MicroLine stylus. Those carts are giant killers!

It is a bit strange that you need somebody else to tell you which stylus profile is better. I like both Shibata and MicroLine, but on top of the line AT cartridges i like MicroLine.

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
My thoughts exactly chakster. Cakyo, your arm is depending on the erroneous fact that most cartridges are build correctly. You can adjust the azimuth slightly by raising and lowering the back of the arm if that is possible. Azimuth is more important than stylus rake angle IMHO. You raise the arm and the stylus will tilt to the right as you view the stylus from the front, down and it will tilt to the left. All of the better cartridges I have aligned are close enough that this method will work.  
larryi
4,373 posts
 
Whatever you choose, inspect the cartridge out of the box to make sure that the stylus is perfectly aligned to have no azimuth tilt when installed.  As mijostyn mentioned, you can change tilt slightly by raising or lowering the arm (because of the offset of the headshell), but, I have found that these narrow profile styli are particularly sensitive to rake angle setting in terms of the sound.  

I have no idea which intrinsically sounds better--I generally choose a narrow profile stylus because of their reputation for longevity and gentle treatment of the records, but, I have not specifically tried to discern audible differences.  
cakyol's avatar
cakyol OP
940 posts
 
Maybe I am not using the terminology right here....
By azimuth, I meant looking at the cartridge head on, NOT from the side.  My armplate has caused the arm to be leaning (only a few degrees) to the right.  This can be fixed by 'twisting' a movable headshell but not doable on the Rega (Audiomods) head.  

Is this not called the azimuth (or rake angle).  Audiomods have a micrometer with which the VTA can be adjusted.  That is not the issue.

Thanks

lewm
13,846 posts
 
I think mijostyn et al are saying that azimuth changes when you adjust VTA. If not, please someone correct me. Yes, I think it would change by a very little bit, but one does not have free choice in setting VTA; VTA first and foremost has to be set to achieve the desired tonal balance and also to adjust SRA (whether one likes it or not, changing VTA is the way most of us change SRA). Thus, the final choice of VTA is very restricted by these other primary goals and would be a poor way to change azimuth. (In fact, I never heard of such a thing, so maybe I misunderstand what mijostyn and larryi are saying here.) But I do see their point that azimuth is secondarily slightly affected by VTA.
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