Opinions on a Stanton 881S cartridge?

wowazeplin

Member
I bought a SL-1700 mk2 with this Stanton 881S cartridge on it a month ago, Stylus was broken and I've been reading a little bit about the cartridge to gauge its potential but not finding much on the version (S).

Can anyone possibly give a lowdown?

All I have right now is the Shure M94XE which I like, how does this Stanton compare?

Is it worthwhile for me to find a stylus for it?

Thanks in advance for any and all input!!:D
 
The "S" in 881S meant Stereohedron Stylus which is the same as Shibata in profile. LPGear sells a good replacment in Shibata form.
The 881S was the top of the line of Stanton's offering.

Al. Wise
 
The "S" in 881S meant Stereohedron Stylus which is the same as Shibata in profile. LPGear sells a good replacment in Shibata form.
The 881S was the top of the line of Stanton's offering.

Al. Wise

There were a few other specialty carts that were slightly above the 881, but for all argument's sake, Al is pretty much correct.

The 881s is a classic.
 
It's well worth getting a new stylus for it. The 881S was Stanton’s slightly modified version of Pickering’s XSV3000, and was released in 1977, from memory (I’ve got some info in Electronics Australia from when it was released somewhere). There were a few better variants (eg Stanton 980LZS, which was a low output version) which were revisions of the 881S/XSV3000, but it was Stanton’s best cartridge for a few years, and was still available until the mid-2000’s. It had a slightly flatter frequency response than the Pickering XSV3000 according to Pickering/Stanton insiders, but was basically a slightly modified version of that. The main difference is the way the styli fit, and the brushes, between the Pickering and Stanton versions, but the styli are interchangeable – I’ve got a Pickering stylus on my 881S at present. There was also an 880S, which was an uncalibrated version - that just meant it hadn't been tested by Stanton before sale, but they were probably almost identical in performance.

The Pickering XSV3000, which was released in 1976, superseded the Shure V15 Type III as the world’s best MM in the mid-70’s in the opinion of most reviewers of the time, the Stanton 881S then was very slightly better, and in 1978 Shure introduced the V15 Type IV in response to them. The ‘S’ stands for stereohedron, which is Stanton’s version of JVC’s Shibata, with very slightly different stylus cuts, but equivalent performance. There is a review in Gramophone of August 1978 here http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/August 1978/112/855756/#header-logo , but it’s mixed up with a Cambridge Audio amplifier review (and a Garrard turntable review), so you need to bypass the first two pages – the Stanton 881S review starts on page 3.

The bit about how they call their Shibata variant stereohedron has unfortunately been mixed up by the stupid text scanning software they used which can’t seem to distinguish that it’s two separate reviews, with the Stanton one at the bottom of the page, and the Cambridge one at the top, so the sentence is split with a bit of guff about the Cambridge Audio amp’s performance! Stupid software! The sentences actually read “The stylus is no longer an elliptical but one of the new family of 'line contact' styli typified by the Shibata shape. Stanton's name for their adaptation of this stylus shape for stereo records is "stereohedron" and it first appeared on the Pickering XSV3000 cartridge (reviewed in November 1976).”

I can tell you that the abbreviated review from Australian Hi-fi that I have (in Stereo Buyer’s Guide Turntables 1979) shows they obtained a frequency response that was exceptionally flat within a 2dB window (ie ±1dB), with the recommended loading (275pF and 47kΩ) – very few cartridges managed such a flat response when they were loaded correctly (for the flattest response within the audio band). I also have a review by Electronics Australia somewhere, and they also thought the 881S was pretty good, and commented that it sounded very good, and was probably the best MM cartridge they’d heard back then.

The Pickering XSV3000, which it's derived from, and which is very similar, is reviewed here http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Pag...ickering+XSV3000+stereo+cartridge#header-logo . Great cartridges, and still among the best MM's that have been made.
 
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Well, think I'll hold on to it and look around for a stylus!

Would one expect this to perform any better than my M94xe? I've been using this one for 5 mo now and it seems to be getting better as I use it but it's still not "wowing" me...
 
Is that the M94E, or the M97xE? It doesn't really matter, the Stanton was a more expensive cartridge, and is a step up in sound quality. It was a competitor for the Shure V15 Type IV and V for most of its life, and they were a lot better than any of the lower Shures - the M97 was derived using some of the things introduced on the V15 Type IV, but missed out on its best points, and was always ranked below it. It's not bad, but was always a cheaper cartridge than the V15 or 881S, and the same is true of the M94E, which was cheaper again. The prices in 1994, from the Needle Doctor and LPGear archives on Waybackmachine, were 881S $145, M97xE $90 or $100 (depending on the seller) and M94E $69, and that reflects the sound quality to a large degree.
 
Having listened to it in detail back in the 80s, I remember prefering the 881S to the Shure V15 Type IV. However, I much preferred the V15 Type VMR over the 881S. The VMR had a cleaner top end. The 881 was more comparable to the Type V with the original HE stylus.

Fernando
 
I have both the Stanton 881S and the Shure V15xMR. The V15 was my main cartridge. I acquired an 881S and tried it out. To me the Stanton sounded smoother and it remains on my turntable to this day.
Until then I'd been somewhat biased toward V15 cartridges and had been using them since1978.
From what I’ve read and experienced through listening, the 881S has phenomenal tracking ability on par with the V15.
The Stanton 890 cartridge body is a functional equivalent of the 881. You can buy them for way less than the latter.
 
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Any chance that one of you guys know what my Stanton L847S Cart with a D84S might be?

It's the P-mount equivalent of the 881S, so everything said about the 881S should apply - it was probably one of the best P-mounts produced.
 
Any chance that one of you guys know what my Stanton L847S Cart with a D84S might be?

Specs below .. Nice cart.:yes:
Regards, Steve
 

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Excellent write up Don:thmbsp:

In addition I'd like to add that Stanton insiders say that the Pickering XSV/3000 was later (quietly) modified to be identical (in frequency response) to the Stanton 881. Unfortunately no one has said when that change occurred and AFAIK there is no way to tell apart an earlier or later XSV/3000 body. It was also said the frequency response difference was very small and probably not noticeable but was measurable.

Also the Stereohedron was almost identical to the Shibata but had two additional cuts to the front to the diamond that appear to duplicate the same two located on the back of the Shibata. I had a pic comparing the two stylus and posted it in an earlier thread and will add it here later if Verizon ever fixes my phone, 9.6 Kbps on dialup is too dang slow to search or upload anything.

Interesting that as well reviewed as the 881S and XSV/3000 were there are some (including me) that actually prefer the sound of the moving iron 681eee.

Dave/ChairSpud
 
Interesting that as well reviewed as the 881S and XSV/3000 were there are some (including me) that actually prefer the sound of the moving iron 681eee.

Yes, the 681EEE is no slouch - I own both, and like the 681EEE, although I slightly prefer the 881S.
 
Excellent input all! Thank you very much.

I also keep seeing 881S. And 881 mkIIs etc... Are these different versions? If So is there a way to identify?
 
I havn't checked JICO since they were supposed to be redoing their site with new prices but I belive they and LP Gear had replacement stylus for the Stanton 881. Along with this post and another related one I decided to listen to my Stanton 881S and it is GOOD! If you can't get an original Stanton stylus for it get a JICO or LP Gear which I believe is mfg by JICO.
 
Excellent input all! Thank you very much.

I also keep seeing 881S. And 881 mkIIs etc... Are these different versions? If So is there a way to identify?

Yes, I believe the 881S was fitted with the first Stereohedron stylus and the 881 mkIIS the later Stereohedron II an improvement on the original with better record and stylus wear. I have only the later IIS tip so can't speak for the earlier but I understand both sound very good.

Dave/ChairSpud
 
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