replacing Clear Audio MM styli

[toma-t-amot]

Or.......................a UTC A-20 transformer wired for stereo to mono. ( between phonostage and pre amp. )

http://jelabs.blogspot.nl/2016/04/stereo-mono-line-level-mixer.html

 

[Twanx]

A tip for mono records is to wire up a mono switch somewhere.

I have a jumper installed for sum-to-mono, that and my new stylus, my VG or less mono records have never sounded better!

 

[TinMachine]

I have just successfully transplanted the ATN95SA Shibata stylus into my Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony cartridge. I bought the Catridge with 50 hours on it. As I was about to install it and test for tracking force, I bent the original stylus(yikes!) . At least I know I'm not alone on that. $350 for the whole thing, so not a massive loss, but I was looking forward to using the original stylus for several hundred hours. So I spring the $200 for the new Shibata. All I did was use a pair of electrician dikes to cut the wings off. That was all I did. Put it in place, and hoped it would be OK. Sounds great out of the box. Improved bass response for certain over my ortofon 2m bronze and denon dl-110(both great recommendations for my marantz tt15s1) . It was easy, but be very careful! Best of luck everyone. And thanks for my first post.

 

[Balifly]

And thanks for my first post.

Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

 

[Audiolad]

A recent entry on this site mentioned that the Clear Audio MM cartridges could be DIY replaced with a Audio Technica AT-95 stylus/grip assembly. Evidently AT is the OEM for all Clear Audio stylii - at least for the MM carts.

I had purchased a Clear Audio TT (Emotion model - now being sold as a Marantz TT-15) bundled with the Clear Audio "Maestro" MM cartridge (the top of the line Clear Audio MM cartridge). This cartridge comes with a "boron" cantilever (unobtainium by another name).

Of course the stylus/cantilever assembly extends about 3/8" of an inch below and in front of the cart body - just asking to be broken off. Which of course it was shortly after purchase.

The "dealer" wanted $600 to replace the stylus/cantilever assembly (evidently referred to as the "grip" by those who are "in the know"). I didn't have clue one as to how this could be repaired - I pictured elves in some German forest busily bending over microscopes performing micron level surgery. Wrong.

The "grip" pops out of the cartridge body using no tool other than a finger nail - rather easy actually (see the attached picture of the original grip - the picture of the small black thing with the text showing where the original cantilever appeared).

I then tried to find an AT-95 "grip" - no luck - as all I could find was an AT-95E - the picture on the web site appeared to be what I was looking for as it seemed to be the same size as what I removed from the Maestro. This website picture of what IS an AT-95 is is also attached.

Unfortunately when the AT-95E arrived it was NOT what was pictured on the website - instead it had a large,green plastic carrier (picture of the green thing with a gap in it) all around it.

However in an "aha!" moment I determined that the "grip" I needed could be removed from the "carrier" assembly via some surgery with a sharp razor knife. And it was so. The "excised" grip fit PERFECTLY into my Maestro cart body.

How does it sound? In a word simply wonderful - better than when it had with the original grip assembly from Clear Audio - I think the AT-95 has a tonal balance that nicely compliments the Clear Audio motor assembly.

Lessons to be learned?

There are a lot of people on this forum who actually possess some very valuable and useful information - so thanks to all of you. Further the folks around here are NOT afraid to experiment and try things that are more than a little outside the box.

The other thing I learned is that Clear Audio and their products are more than a little bit of a "rip" - I would steer clear of any outfit who charges $600 for what I fixed for $35 and about 10 minutes of labor. The very least those rascals could have done is offer me a "cheaper fix" - for say $100 (and they still would have made a pile at that rate). So Clear Audio will be forever banned with me - and I am going to make this clear to as many people as possible.

If you do have a Clear Audio MM cart - you can fix a broken stylus YOURSELF - don't pay the $600 the dealers want to pop in an AT stylus/cantilever assembly.

best to everybody,

Reddog

PS: rest of system? Odyssey Khartago mono-block amps, Vincent SA-T8 tube preamp, AR-9 Speakers (completely rebuilt crossovers and internal wiring), Cambridge Audio 840C CD player, and Kimber KCAG IC's and Cardas "Golden Reference" speaker cables. Took several years to assemble this one but I am very happy with it.

The stylus internal is correct, but let's not forget their are also Hyper elliptical, Shibata, and Microline stylus made for the AT95 body. The simple switch of the stylus internal will not give you a new Clearaudio cartridge unless you also use the correct stylus.

 

[Grbluen]

The stylus internal is correct, but let's not forget their are also Hyper elliptical, Shibata, and Microline stylus made for the AT95 body. The simple switch of the stylus internal will not give you a new Clearaudio cartridge unless you also use the correct stylus.

I think you may have missed the point of this thread.

 

[Audiolad]

I think you may have missed the point of this thread.

I never answer the many people who try to steal the original post to make it about themselves and what they know. I went to the original post to make a comment on what the person wrote. So maybe you're the one who missed the point of this thread. My statement was about the information being correct to replace the stylus in the Clearaudio Cartridge and what an individual must do to replicate the original stylus.

 

[Grbluen]

I never answer the many people who try to steal the original post to make it about themselves and what they know. I went to the original post to make a comment on what the person wrote. So maybe you're the one who missed the point of this thread. My statement was about the information being correct to replace the stylus in the Clearaudio Cartridge and what an individual must do to replicate the original stylus.

Ok, I'm in the mood. Do you own the cartridge?

 

[Twanx]

Haha. The effectiveness of this method to change the stylus simply turns the CA cart into a more conventional MM that can accept multiple stylus options. As I mentioned on a previous page, I really enjoy the cheapie pfanstiehl 710-D7 conical stylus in my Virtuoso and am actually on about my 5th one. It's cheap enough that I replace it every few months and have no reservations about playing a record in lower conditions. And the sound is awesome!

 

[Grbluen]

I think in the other thread on the other site, it was discovered that the angle was wrong on the 150mlx. I think you'd have to transplant the cantilever to a grip more similar to the AT-95. I've viewed the boron/ styli for the Maestro under the microscope and it is unlike any other styli I've ever seen!

 

[cgodecke]

I think the magic is in the wood body. The Clearaudio aluminum cantilevered styli themselves don't, actually, seem to made to as high of a quality standard as you find for a typical Audio-Technica stylus or an EVG or Pfanstiehl AT replacement for that matter. Seems like Clearaudio cheaped out here because the improvement in sound brought by the wood body is so significant that it seems like you could mount a straight pin in it and still get great sound. This seems to confirm the "coupling" argument--most cartridges, even cheapies (and especially expensive ones) will sound much better if they are coupled better to the tonearm.

I think if you put a genuine AT stylus transplant into the Clearaudio body, you get an automatic improvement over the stock aluminum cantilevered Clearaudio styli, but I don't know anything about Clearaudio's boron cantilevered styli. My Clearaudio Ebony V2 Performer with the ATN440MLb stylus sounds amazing: up there with my favorites and it looks great, too. It is a little thin on the top, though, which others have noticed about Clearaudio's high end cartridges in any event. I imagine with an ATN150MLX, the Clearaudio cartridges would be unbelievable--except that the 150 body is well damped and well-coupled anyway so I'm not sure that you'd hear much of an improvement, but you might.

I have some of those 710-D7 styli and I agree they sound excellent, too.

I've jumped on the CA Virtuoso/AT95 stylus bandwagon, with outstanding results. Picked up a Virtuoso v1 on Ebay with a bit of a deviated stylus, which may have given a reasonable account of stock performance - enjoyable, but not really up to the standard of the decent MCs I'm used to. Popped in a Jico 710-DSH shibata stylus from turntableneedles, haven't trimmed off the plastic yet, and after maybe half hour of subdued sound it dramatically opened up. I'm a little stunned at the improvement. Not only do I hear much of the air and ambience of a good MC, but the rich, dynamic musicality is addictive! Both very lively and very suave. Yes, it's a "put on any and every record and find a new, previously hidden potential kind of experience." More than what I hoped for based only other positive reports.

I'm now slightly hesitant to jinx it by snipping the stylus plastic down to the grip. It WILL certainly look better. And with fewer than 10 hours on the new shibata I find it amazing that it will almost certainly get better!

Table is a Micro Seiki SX111FV with LP Lab upgraded Well Tempered Arm, into NovaPhonomena preamp.

Thanks to all who went before, experimenting and venturing into new territory with the Virtuoso cartridge.

Cam

 

[cgodecke]

A couple days after posting that last comment, I cut out the stylus and grip with small diagonal cutters.. One firm clip! on each side of it, and done. Immediately it appeared that the cantilever had a bit of a new lateral curve in it. I think the force of the second cut forced the thing into the side of the housing. You know how far a tiny piece of material can fly from this sort of snip? A little sickening, really.

I'm also less than satisfied with how easily the stub went to the cartridge opening. Not much seems to retain it compared to either the original stylus or the new one in its full housing. Anyone else notice this? Maybe particular to the Jico unit?

After aligning and compensating as well as possible for new tilt and lower overall mass, it does sound fine. I think the bend is primarily in one lateral plane - not hard to compensate for. Still have a balanced soundstage and on first listen Ms Krall's voice is well centered.

If there's a next time for such surgery I've already got some ideas to prevent damage. Hold the stub and make the second cut in two or three steps perhaps. And now I wish I had done a practice run with a much cheaper stylus.

Cam

 

[Grbluen]

A couple days after posting that last comment, I cut out the stylus and grip with small diagonal cutters.. One firm clip! on each side of it, and done. Immediately it appeared that the cantilever had a bit of a new lateral curve in it. I think the force of the second cut forced the thing into the side of the housing. You know how far a tiny piece of material can fly from this sort of snip? A little sickening, really.

I'm also less than satisfied with how easily the stub went to the cartridge opening. Not much seems to retain it compared to either the original stylus or the new one in its full housing. Anyone else notice this? Maybe particular to the Jico unit?

After aligning and compensating as well as possible for new tilt and lower overall mass, it does sound fine. I think the bend is primarily in one lateral plane - not hard to compensate for. Still have a balanced soundstage and on first listen Ms Krall's voice is well centered.

If there's a next time for such surgery I've already got some ideas to prevent damage. Hold the stub and make the second cut in two or three steps perhaps. And now I wish I had done a practice run with a much cheaper stylus.

Cam

Sounds like you Made out ok! Lemme tell you about the time that I ruined a brand new 150mlx stylus attempting a transplant...

 

[Grbluen]

Yep, just not sure where!

 

[cgodecke]

I really don't like how much I've had to twist the cartridge to get the cantilever aligned. Tempted to try bending it back with the two-toothpick method, and hope I do more good than harm. Obsessive-compulsive gift/curse requires me to do something!

Already thinking about surgery on another new stylus. It looks like best deal in a serious upgrade may be an ATN3472VL at $116.58. Looks like there's additional cutting required to get down to the stub? Maybe a Pfansthiehl conical could be fun, too?

 

[cgodecke]

Struggled to get any kind of in-focus image with my tablet, will keep trying. I estimate that the deviation is 2-3 degrees, and with a curve toward the tip, the maximum that the slightly oversize mounting holes tolerate. I think it still may sound as good as it would were it not bent, but hard to just leave it at that.

This is the sort of condition that would require imaging of the stylus' exact orientation in the groove to know if all is actually adjusted for.

 

[Twanx]

Maybe a Pfansthiehl conical could be fun, too?

I love the 710-D7 conical in my Virtuoso. It's all I use as my collection is a majority 50s-60's jazz LPs. But It can play audiophile pieces and quality Japanese presses just as well!

 

[cgodecke]

There must be some negatives to the 710-D7 compared to the Vivid Line you had for a while? Didn't it spoil you, or is it more like a DL-103 conical, which I loved for a couple years? I WANT to believe it's not that far off the Jico shibata I'm so impressed with.

 

[Twanx]

It's hard to remember...I'm on about my 8th 710-D7 at this point and my system has changed a bit. I want to say the vividline had more fine details on some recordings, but I do distinctly remember being impressed when I switched over to conical for the first time. It just felt so full and right to listen to with the old recordings.

The beauty of the 710-D7 is that they only cost about $10 shipped on eBay, so definitely grab one and see what you think.

 

[cgodecke]

Low risk proposition, so I just ordered a conical and an eliptical "upgrade." Twanx has easily persuaded me.

I've been gently working to bend the Jico shibata back to straight, and it's working. I used a short piece of 14ga wire insulation placed over the section of cantilever to be bent. Not quite the extreme need to max out the headshell allowance now. The dang thing still sounds excellent regardless.

Cam