In this video you can listen to a recording comparison of 5 different phono cartridges and styli for 78 RPM records which are:
- Shure N75-6S cartridge with N78-3 stylus
- Shure M78S with SS78E stylus (replacement stylus from Thakker)
- Stanton 505 (based on model 500) with D5127 replacement stylus
- Ortofon OM 78 (OM system with 78 stylus)
- Audio Technica AT3600L with 78 replacement stylus
All cartridges are mounted on headshells and have been played on a Reloop RP-5000 M3D turntable using the correct weight setup with a turntable gauge. A standard phono amplifier "Little Bear T8" connected to the Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD external sound module has been used to record this early 1930's HMV record. No filtering or amplification was used.
The used styli vary slightly in their tips size between 2.5mil and 3mil (see specifications on the Internet). The cartridges also differ by their frequency range, causing lower or higher amount of noise and crackles from the record above 10kHz.
The Audio Technica is a special case; it's a very cheap cartridge from China which performs well on 33rpm LPs but has a "low character" in its performance with the 78s 3mil stylus; nevertheless it has a low noise level compared to the other systems.
Of course the result highly depends on the record manufacturer, the date of recording, the used recording equipment and stylus in these days and the condition of the record. I provided the comparison here because i did not find a useful demonstration of cartridges for records from the 1920s and 1930s, so i hope you'll find it useful. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
