These are not "normal styli" at least not for the old shellac records. It was very educational to watch this Techmoan video - https://youtu.be/AYn7aZZBMRA http

These are not "normal styli" at least not for the old shellac records. It was very educational to watch this Techmoan video - https://youtu.be/AYn7aZZBMRA https://youtu.be/AYn7aZZBMRA - and learn that the original shellac records were harder than the steel styli; these wore down in one or two playings and so were bought in bulk, and the tracking force was on the order of 100 grams. Why does this matter? Because it probably keeps down the fine high-frequency crackle from very minor dust and surface imperfections. But I can see that you wouldn't subject a precious antique 78 to that kind of playback these days.