Sorry to crap on the OM78, but 2g VTF is never going to cut it for quality 78RPM playback. Do they not study physics in Denmark?
The keys to *listenable* 78 RPM playback are:
4 grams minimum VTF. This is critical as the stylus is going to be moving at a high rate of speed and is susceptible to any horizontal (warp) or lateral (off-center) variations. Personally, I track at 5g.
Viable options are:
- Stanton/Pickering (the industry standard for 78 playback since forever) with either OEM or aftermarket styli. The 500/V15s are great. The 68x/XV-15s are even better.
- Grado 78C or 78E
- Audio-Technica AT-MONO3/SP
- The aftermarket styli from
Esoteric -- they have options for Shure, Grado, Nagaoka, and Audio Technica.
Mono playback. If you play 78s back in stereo, you get all sorts of phasing artifacts. These disappear in mono. Options for this are:
- Preamp/receiver/integrated amp with a mono switch (ability to choose with L or R only gives even more options for worn discs)
- Mono cartridge (the Grados or AT above, or you can strap a stereo cartridge at the pins)
- dual Y-cables to sum the signal in the chain
A "nice to have" option is
EQ curves for the specific manufacturers. These can be found on some vintage tube preamps (Fisher made a few) or you can buy a modern one from KAB ($$$). If you're needle dropping, the ClickRepair guy has free software for automatically adjusting this for you from RIAA. I've found that tweaking the tone controls on more modern gear works just fine. But 78s do sound lovely through tubes if you have the option.