Anyone have any experience with ADC XLM MKII Improved cartridges? Thoughts?

JPNH

Active Member
Just curious if anyone has any experience with the ADC XLM MKII Improved mm cartridge with a diasa elliptical stylus. Have the opportunity to grab a NOS still in the box with the stylus for under $150. At 1.0g optimal tracking force I was thinking of trying it in my AR/XA as it seems it would be a good fit for the tone arm. Nice light tracker. Just to experiment.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them? On paper the specs look better than a Shure M91, but that doesn't always translate into real world results of course.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions and thoughts! Mucho appreciated!

JP
 
I am a big fan of the Shure M91. I enjoy it's forward sound, punchy bass and attack. I am also a bigger fan of XLM ADC cartridges. The higher end original styli sound fantastic. Lots of bass, a well defined mid-range and plenty of detail and sizzle at the top. Great sound stage and separation of instruments. The XLMs sound great with any type of music but they excel with jazz and vocals. What specific stylus comes with your cartridge? You also need to be aware that the suspension NOS may be dried out. There are fixes for that.so don't worry too much. I agree that the ADC should be a pretty good match for the AR arm, I have never used after market styli for ADC so I cant help with that. I say give it a try.
 
As long as your aware the suspension could be questionable [harder] and knowing the high compliance will need a very light
arm its a great cartridge when close to original condition.
 
I am a big fan of the Shure M91. I enjoy it's forward sound, punchy bass and attack. I am also a bigger fan of XLM ADC cartridges. The higher end original styli sound fantastic. Lots of bass, a well defined mid-range and plenty of detail and sizzle at the top. Great sound stage and separation of instruments. The XLMs sound great with any type of music but they excel with jazz and vocals. What specific stylus comes with your cartridge? You also need to be aware that the suspension NOS may be dried out. There are fixes for that.so don't worry too much. I agree that the ADC should be a pretty good match for the AR arm, I have never used after market styli for ADC so I cant help with that. I say give it a try.
Awesome! I mainly listen to jazz so it sounds like a good fit. It's coming with the original stylus and cartridge. I do like the M91, but figured I try something new because I love tinkering. Lol Thanks for the advice and I'll do some research on the suspension component!!
 
Thanks so much. I'll do some research on the suspension component for a workaround. I'm guessing there's a thread around here somewhere discussing it! Cheers!
As long as your aware the suspension could be questionable [harder] and knowing the high compliance will need a very light
arm its a great cartridge when close to original condition.

I have one with an LP gear Vivid Line stylus. Wonderful cartridge.It's in my rotation queue.
 
While I don’t own one (I have a VLM MkIII upgraded with a ZLM stylus), I do know some information about the ADC XLM (and other) models.

The Diasa tip was ADC’s ‘cheapskate nude’ tip, using a sapphire bushing instead of a metal (brass etc) bushing between the diamond tip and the aluminium alloy cantilever.

The XLM MkII Improved was more a competitor for the Shure V15 Type III than the M91E or M91ED, in that it cost 25% more than the price of the M91ED (US$100 vs $79.95, 1980). In fact, when the XLM II was introduced it was around 80% more expensive than the Shure M91ED ($100 vs $55, 1975), so they would never have been considered competitors. The XLM II and XLM II Improved were very close in price to the Shure V15 Type III and Stanton 681EEE cartridges over the time they were sold, and they were probably two of the closest competitors.

I discovered this set of ADC XLM specifications and introduction dates that I’d downloaded at some time – credit to whoever posted it. With a 0.2mg stylus moving mass, the XLM II Improved would have been an excellent performer with very good tracking.

ADC-XLM-SERIES models.jpg
 
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While I don’t own one (I have a VLM MkIII upgraded with a ZLM stylus), I do know some information about the ADC XLM (and other) models.

The Diasa tip was ADC’s ‘cheapskate nude’ tip, using a sapphire bushing instead of a metal (brass etc) bushing between the diamond tip and the aluminium alloy cantilever.

The XLM MkII Improved was more a competitor for the Shure V15 Type III than the M91E or M91ED, in that it cost 25% more than the price of the M91ED (US$100 vs $79.95, 1980). In fact, when the XLM II was introduced it was around 80% more expensive than the Shure M91ED ($100 vs $55, 1975), so they would never have been considered competitors. The XLM II and XLM II Improved were very close in price to the Shure V15 Type III and Stanton 681EEE cartridges over the time they were sold, and they were probably two of the closest competitors.

I discovered this set of ADC XLM specifications and introduction dates that I’d downloaded at some time – credit to whoever posted it. With a 0.2mg stylus moving mass, the XLM II Improved would have been an excellent performer with very good tracking.

View attachment 1925533
Wow great stuff! Thank you for sharing. Just the info I was looking for! :beerchug:
 
Pretty sure there are some good threads on this cartridge about AK. They were quite popular and sold well.
 
Thanks so much. I'll do some research on the suspension component for a workaround. I'm guessing there's a thread around here somewhere discussing it! Cheers!

Don't worry about the suspension yet. Give it a try first. The entire suspension donut can be replaced if needed it is not a biggie.
 
i bought an original XLM back in the 70s which is STILL my favorite cartridge but the originals are no longer available. they are hyper compliant and DEMAND a low mass tonearm. the cantilever is about as short as they make them. the Dynabector 17D and 23R have likewise short cantilevers.

i currently have an XLMII NOS mounted on a Grace 707 arm that sounds quite close. i would love to try the LPGear Vivid or a JICO SAS stylus on it but this cart has almost no wear as i just opened it from new.
 
Don't worry about the suspension yet. Give it a try first. The entire suspension donut can be replaced if needed it is not a biggie.
Sounds good. Thanks! I'm going to pick it up later this week. So I'll have a look once I receive it.
 
i bought an original XLM back in the 70s which is STILL my favorite cartridge but the originals are no longer available. they are hyper compliant and DEMAND a low mass tonearm. the cantilever is about as short as they make them. the Dynabector 17D and 23R have likewise short cantilevers.

i currently have an XLMII NOS mounted on a Grace 707 arm that sounds quite close. i would love to try the LPGear Vivid or a JICO SAS stylus on it but this cart has almost no wear as i just opened it from new.
Great info! Thanks!
 
Its a pretty special cartridge. I got mine with an original (like new) stylus that came with a Dual 1218 TT I got at a garage sale for $5. I have it mounted in my own fashioned TT that features an AR turntable with ADC tonearm.
 
I've been running an aftermarket Pfanstiehl Swiss 4108-DET for about a year now. Not quite as good as the OEM but not that far off either. EVG Swiss nude mount elliptical 108s are starting to show up for about $40. May be worth a shot.
 
I have one of these set up on my Kenwood KD-500 with the ADC LMF-1 tonearm and its a sweet combo. I have two more XLM mkII improved carts with the original stylus as replacements when the one I already have installed finally goes. On the bay these come up every so often in the $125.00 price range. Why some folks are unloading these I will never know other than its a high compliance cart that works best on a lite arm so that might be one of many reasons. So yes its an outstanding cart. On another note I believe there is a Nude .3x.7 elliptical being sold for the mkIII which I think would fit the rest of that line as well. So that would be an cheaper alternative when its time to replace your stylus. I am also a huge fan of the Shure M91ED since that was the cart I grew up on and my all around favorite. Enjoy
 
From comments so far there are issues with the new nude elliptical stylus for the ADC line and are being
looked at by the manufacture.

The problems aren’t with the new nude elliptical stylus. The problems are with the old (current) design of the entire stylus assembly. It bears NO resemblance to original ADC form and function.

John was asking the Swiss manufacturer whether the design could be changed to make it work like the original MI design. As it is, it’s an MM stylus. Many corners have been cut from the original ADC design.

Here are the problems. Below are the Pfanstiehl and EVG Swiss styli, from the same manufacturer:

34C2977B-8CA0-4048-AB84-C33BF35DE2E2.png
72C81749-B61B-4FEA-9DCD-798AB0FBE0E9.png
 
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