Help buying new Stylus

VBB

Active Member
So I've read extensively here and think I understand the different types of stylii (sp?), but purchasing seems to be a daunting task. I don't have a lot I can spend, and I'm replacing needles on 3 vintage turntables, so money is an object. I need a Shure m91ed and an ortofon vms5 (probably want to upgrade to 15 or 20) but when I search places like fleabay, it's hard to distinguish between authentic and generic on some listings.

Is the quality of say a pfensteil (sp?) decent enough or is it just throwing money away? What's the best option to get good sound (don't want the stylus to be the weak point in the chain) but at a price that isn't 3 times what I paid for the tt?

NOS
OEM used
Higher priced alternate company
Bargain priced alternate company
Generic
???Screenshot_2018-09-21-14-59-55.png Screenshot_2018-09-21-14-59-55.png Screenshot_2018-09-21-14-59-49.png
 
So I've read extensively here and think I understand the different types of stylii (sp?), but purchasing seems to be a daunting task. I don't have a lot I can spend, and I'm replacing needles on 3 vintage turntables, so money is an object. I need a Shure m91ed and an ortofon vms5 (probably want to upgrade to 15 or 20) but when I search places like fleabay, it's hard to distinguish between authentic and generic on some listings.

Is the quality of say a pfensteil (sp?) decent enough or is it just throwing money away? What's the best option to get good sound (don't want the stylus to be the weak point in the chain) but at a price that isn't 3 times what I paid for the tt?

NOS
OEM used
Higher priced alternate company
Bargain priced alternate company
Generic
???

What price did you paid for the tt? :idea:
 
15 bucks for one, and 9 bucks each for the other two. They all need some love, including the needles.
 
The Pfanstiehl's are fine. NeedleDaddy1 has great prices and a great reputation. Tonars are JICO sourced and are more expensive. I do not have any connection with NeedleDaddy1. I just know that I cannot compete with his prices. I just try to help people find what they want at the best price. Pfanstiehl started the stylus term 'generic'. Since every stylus is model specific, I would love to see that term go away. We have OEM's and aftermarkets.
 
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I bought some of those Pfanstiehls and I was not impressed at all. Worse, there wasn't anything I could do to make them better except use the cantilevers on something else. But the suspensions were way too compliant so the cantilever deflection was too much and the diamond sat in the groove with considerable negative SRA. Pushing the cantilever further into the suspension to shorten the fulcrum length didn't really help. The EVG available at the time were much, much better. I also tried the Tonars and I liked those much more. On the other hand the Green stylus that fits this cartridge sold by Pfanstiehl is excellent and doesn't cost much more than the ones you linked to. I can't remember the part number, but look for those. They're only a couple bucks more a piece.

Here is the link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STEREO-PHO...337738?hash=item51a566f00a:g:nmUAAMXQHxVRiBlL

That is the one that I recommended but I did not provide the link. Thank you for 'seconding' it. LOL.
 
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