Selecting 78 cart for Dual 1229

[ejg]

Hi Gang,

I joined the other day, submitted some scanned docs for my Mirco Seiki DQ41, and now have a question about my Dual 1229.

I want to use the 1229 to principally play my dads 78s. My understanding is that one needs special cartridges to play 78’s and the existing Pickering cart should not be used.

Can somebody outline what the possibilities are in buying a good 78 cart? I realize there will be different quality/pricing categories and if somebody can outline my category options then I can then do further net research and decide what it is I want to buy.

Recommendations anyone?

[ejg]

I have been doing some research for those that are looking for the same type of information so here are all my notes up until now.

This web page does a Stanton-Pickering Cartridge-Stylus cross reference.
http://www.kabusa.com/STANTONX.HTM

The page says that for a XV-15 cartridge the only 78 Stylus available is a D6827. The Pickering 4527 (Pfanstiehl 606-D3) for some reason is not on that list. It should be because I found a different page validating the match.

Big difference in price, the 4527=$27. The 6827=$65

I learned that the optimum stylus choice depends on the era of 78 you're playing. Some records have a wider and some narrower grooves. Some 78 pressings even need Microgroove styli. Many middle to late 1950's 78 discs were cut Microgroove and sound killer good. Stanton 500 has the most stylus options, the Shure elliptical 78 stylus is superb on post WW II era 78 discs and has both 78 and microgroove styli available.

There are lots of guys that say they would go with the Stanton 500 -- with a cheapie 78 stylus if budget is tight to see if they really wanted to get more into 78s. Then go for the custom stylii that are available.

Turns out that Esoteric Sound and Garage-A-Records sell many different aftermarket 78 styli for the Stanton 500 body. The 500 is a popular cart for 78 enthusiasts and used ones can often be found on Ebay for under $20. One guy paid $30 for two lightly-used 500s mounted on Stanton headshells

I also found a guy that said he used the Stanton 500 with the D5127 stylus for a few years before Grado introduced the 78C. He bought the 78C soon after its release and greatly preferred it to the Stanton as it seems to roll off just enough top end to reduce surface noise. But then he found a Stanton D6827 stylus (for the 680/681 carts a.k.a. the Pickering XV-15). He now calls it his favorite 78 cart/stylus combo.

Additional Notes: The best stylii for 78s are generally custom hyperelliptical truncated tips such as offered by Expert. The sizes are around 2.8 mil for Victors from the early 30s onwards, and 3.1 to 3.5mil for earlier records and Columbias. Preferred cartridges are the Stanton 500s and the Shure M44-7. Also the V15MkIII and M95 offer a very transparent sound for records with clean grooves.

One guy wrote: My choice is the Stanton 500. It sounds great and by far has the largest number of styli available. The standard D5127 2.7 mil conical is a good performer. The Esoteric Sound / Rek-o-kut 78 elliptical styli (available from 2.0 to 8.0 mil) are good also. But in my opinion, the truncated elliptical styli from Expert Stylus are far superior than any I've used for the Stanton 500.

[lini]

Might be worth checking out the Nagaoka MP series, 'cause Nagakoa makes a pretty complete range of mono and 78 needles for these. Afaik, besides the NMP1.0 (1 mil) for mono they have 78 needles from 2 mil up to 5 mil in 0.5 mil steps (haven't seen a vendor offering all versions yet, though...).

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

[ejg]

Danke sehr Mani...

I just tried to search for a Nagakoar website but cant find anything. Do they have a website and I just missed it?

[lini]

It's www.nagaoka.co.jp - but they hardly have any info about their carts on that company site.

But in case German was no problem for you, you could go to the site of the German distributor "Phono Zubehör Vertrieb": www.tonnadel.de - besides the info on Nagaoka carts in the produkt section, they also have brochures on the older and newer MP series in their download area.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

[Dualist701]

The least costly introduction to playing 78's on your Dual with an appropriate cartridge is the Shure M78S.

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-M7.....amp;sr=8-1

Read the customer reviews though. Sounds like the cartridge at least _used to come_ with incorrect instructions for attaching to the leads.

I wonder.....couldn't one just hook up as if "stereo", and switch the amplifier control to "mono"? Apparently the cartridge itself is internally set up for stereo, and "jumpered" for mono use.

Also, I have read online that the N78S needle is useable in other current Shure cartridge bodies.