RCA 1951 45-RPM Test Record Playback tests 14 December 2002

By Eddie Ciletti

David Hadaway, of the Boston Audio Society, kindly brought to my attention a discrepancy in the "1-mil stylus analysis" as revisited in the December 2002 issue of MIX and as originally presented in a 1997 issue of EQ magazine. 

The original tests compared a Shure V-15-IV, a Mexican / Radio Shack Shure V-15RS and a General Electric VR-II, all stereo except the latter, which is an original mono cartridge of the era that has a 1-mil "Microgroove" stylus.  My 1-mil tests from 1997 showed a steep roll-off above 7kHz.  David questioned the results so I have re-tested with a new Shure V-15-V and a Stanton 500 series outfitted with a 1-mil stylus. 

David was right, a 1-mil stylus can reproduce above 7kHz and quite well out to 15kHz.  The VR-II will be restested in the near future as soon as it can be mounted in an SME-compatible shell.  I am very curious to see whether I've made a blatant error or, as I am hoping, that the VR-II mechanics are simply not capable of HF reproduction in that range.  We have made some progress since 1951...

Thanks David, for the motivation!

ec