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Flip Stylus

EL CHAMACOEL CHAMACO 96 Posts
edited April 2012 in Strut Central
Can a strutter out there tell me what an
N or an S on a flip stylus stands for?
The player I have is 3 speed - 33,45, and 78.
I don't want to damage a record by playing
with the wrong side of a stylus. Thanks in
advance!

  Comments

  • jaysusjaysus 787 Posts
    I think the S stands for sapphire, used for playing 78s and the N is a diamond tip? Not exactly sure.
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Could also stand for "normal" and "stereo". What brand?
  • EL CHAMACOEL CHAMACO 96 Posts
    It's a philips portable..
    Not a stereo player
    but that does not mean
    the correct stylus was
    mounted on it.

    Thanks so much for the
    info guys!
  • dj_cityboydj_cityboy 1,460 Posts
    i looked into this because i havent heard of this type of stylus and wanted to school myself a bit here is what i found (which isnt much) and there doesnt appear to be an "N" suffix

    http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/needbelt.htm

    100-ADC 530-Goldring 790-Japanese
    110-Acos 535-Jensen 800-Sonotone
    135-Amer. Micro 538-0rtofon 814-Japanese:
    150-Astatic 550-Lesa 820-Stanton
    200-Audio Technica 556-Magnavox 840- Telefunken
    230-Audio Empire 560-Perp-Ebner 850- Teppaz
    260-B & O 580-Philco 853- Tetrad
    270-BSR 585-Philips 860-Varco (Vaco)
    290-CBS Columbia 600-Pickering 880-Webster Elec.
    300-Dual 610-Japanese 896-Zenith (Needles)
    325-Elac 640-RCA 900-Japanese ..
    350-Electro-Voice 660-Japanese 910-Astatic Plug-ln
    460-Euphonics 700-Ronette 940-EV Plug-ln
    490-Garrard 703-Japanese 980-Sonotone Plug-ln
    500-Gen. Elec. 726-Seeburg 990-Zenith Plug-ln
    525-Grado 750-Shure 4000-Generic Stylus

    EXPLANATION OF UNIFORM SUFFIXES:
    D = Genuine DIAMOND
    S = Synthetic SAPPHIRE
    1 = .001 or 1 mil tip for 16, 33 & 45 rpm MONAURAL
    2 = .002 or 2 mil compromise tip for all MONAURAL
    25 = .0025 or 2.5 mil tip for Transcription & 78 rpm
    3 = .003 or 3 mil tip for 78 rpm
    5 = .0005 or .5 mil tip for Stereo 33 & 45 rpm
    6= .0006 or .6 mil tip for Stereo 33 & 45 rpm
    7 = .0007 or. 7 mil tip 33 & 45 rpm E = ELLIPTICAL tip 33 & 45 rpm
    "M" means needle is made for MANUAL professional type
    turntable -has highest internal compliance.
    "T" means needle is for single play automatic.
    "C" means needle is for Record Changers -slightly firmer to activate record changer mechanism.
    "Q" means specially shaped tip for Discrete 4 Channel.
    G, L,V, X & Z indicate minor differences in tracking force and compliance

    The SUFFIX tells whether the needle has one tip or two; what the tips are made of; and the tip RADIUS, which determines the record speeds it will play.
    Example: 164-DS73 is for an Astatic Cartridge; has a .7 mil DIAMOND for Stereo-LP; and a 3 mil SAPPHIRE for 78.
    Same needle with two Stereo Diamond tips would be 164-DD77.

    not sure if this was the info you were looking for but it explains the suffixes a bit
  • EL CHAMACOEL CHAMACO 96 Posts
    Thanks so much for the info DJ Cityboy!
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