TO PLAY SP RECORDS, YOU NEED A TURNTABLE THAT OPERATES AT 78 RPM
If the rotational speed of the record is 78 rpm, your turntable needs to be able to operate at this speed. If your turntable plays only 33 rpm or 45 rpm, as many turntables do, you will not be able to play your SP record. Audio-Technica AT-LP120X models and the AT-LP140XP model operate perfectly at 78 rpm and in addition the speed is adjustable within 10%, a nice feature as a lot of SP records were not always recorded at the right speed.
TO PLAY SP RECORDS, YOU NEED A DEDICATED SP CARTRIDGE
Never use any cartridges designed for LP Vinyl records on an SP record. As you can see on the schematic, the groove of an SP record is much wider than the groove of an LP record (Vinyl). Using an LP record stylus, typically of a radius of 0.6 mil on a 78 record will result in more noise than music. Playing SP records an LP stylus will result in damage to both the record and the cartridge. The typical radius size of a SP stylus is from 2.5 mil to 3.5 mil, about 5 times the radius size of the typical styli used for LP records.
SP stylus radius = 3mil
LP stylus radius = 0.6mil
AUDIO-TECHNICA CARTRIDGES FOR SP 78 RPM RECORDS
AT-VM670xSP AT-VMx Series mono moving magnet cartridge for 78 rpm mono Shellac SP records
3mil Conical Stylus Bonded Round Shank
See entire description on page 32.
AT-VM95SP VM95 Series stereo moving magnet cartridge for 78 rpm mono Shellac SP records
3mil Conical Stylus Bonded Round Shank
See entire description on page 39.
Audio-Technica Phono Cartridges Guide 2025 - 47
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