What type of stylus does the M35X come with? (Conical/Spherical?)

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by colby2415, Mar 20, 2017.

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  1. colby2415

    colby2415 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    From what I understand the conicals are better for playing 45 rpm singles. i am planning on getting the 35x eventually and I am curious as to the exact specs of the stylus the 35x comes with. There is no detailed specs on the shure site for this, which I thought was odd (isn't it kinda important to know?). From what I understand the order goes like this: Conical -> Spherical -> Elliptical -> shibata, etc. In addition to singles duty I would like to use it for lp's I pick up in questionable condition.

    Thanks
     
  2. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    .7mil conical/spherical (= same thing).
     
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  3. colby2415

    colby2415 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    OHH, so they are the same. I was getting really confused with people using both terms. In my head I was like "hold on, aren't these the same?". Do you like the 35x? I see in your profile that you have one.
     
  4. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Yeah, it's a very good "cheap" cartridge. The body is the same as the M35C (designed for the BBC) and M78S, and is said to be derived from the V15 Type V.

    I like it because it tracks at a fairly low force, and is a superb choice for 45s and mono.
     
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  5. colby2415

    colby2415 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    Good to hear, that's exactly what I wanted to buy it for, singles just don't sound all that great on ellipticals. Not sure why but there is a reason, just cannot remember now.
     
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  6. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    It should be great for singles as well as beat up older records. As an example, a friend sent me a country LP from the late 50s that was totally beat, littered with scratches. There are no nice copies anywhere either so beat up copies are the only choice with this particular record...what do you know, the 35x was able to tame the LP to reasonable levels of surface noise. I didn't even dare attempt to play that with my main cartridge.
     
  7. colby2415

    colby2415 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    Same here, a few surface scratches and I don't mind playing, but anything more im worried about putting such a good stylus through. I mean really the worst that could happen is faster wear, but even then I want more than 100 hours out of a stylus.
     
  8. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    .6 mil conical/spherical stylus.
     
  9. Here's what Shure says about it:
    M35X DJ Phono Cartridge
    The spherical/conical tip is good for playing MONO 45's. Especially if you are going to do back-cuing like at a radio station. The stereo 45's are best played with an elliptical stylus.
     
  10. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Let's put this myth to rest: scratchy records do not cause faster stylus wear.
     
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  11. colby2415

    colby2415 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    Yeah, it seems like a pretty common misconception. What I mean to say was "dirty vinyl", but even then is it really even a problem?
     
  12. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Yes, dirt will hasten wear.
     
  13. colby2415

    colby2415 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    Good to know my cleaning of records is a good habit.
     
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  14. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Stereo on styrene is still best on conical styli or if you use elliptical use a .3 x .7 mil stylus tip. The .2 x .7 or .4 x .7 sometimes are not well suited for styrene 45 singles whether mono or stereo.
     
  15. Conical tips actually have a greater surface area causing higher wear over the long run, but, as they are non-directional, they are the best to use for back-cuing. In normal play, in the 1,000's of 45's that I have, I haven't noticed a problem with playing a styrene stereo 45 with an elliptical stylus. Many sound almost as good as their vinyl counterparts.
    As an example, I have multiple pressings of most of ABBA's Atlantic 45's, including radio station copies, the most common being either Monarch styrene and Specialty vinyl. I initially did needle drops using a Pickering NP/AC with a conical stylus on both the stereo and mono sides. I found that the stereo didn't sound as good as I thought it should. I've had to go back and re-do the stereo cuts using my Shure M97xe with elliptical stylus. The vinyl 45's do sound a bit better than the styrene versions. The problem I find with the styrene versions is that what I think is due to their harder material, they tend to have distortion kinda like IGD sometimes.
     
  16. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Again, sometimes the distortion is from wrong styli being used. Conicals are always styrene safe. Some ellipticals are, some are not.
     
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