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A Cartridge that Sounds Like $1MM for under $200

Wow - I'm glad you brought back this thread, whell. I've been on the lookout for a 881EEE ever since I found the 681EEE/XV-15 carts to be my favorites. I'll now look for a 890 SA - you saved me a ton of money!


markshan said:
Thanks whell. I saw on the links that LPGear recommends removing the brush from the HE, but didn't mention this for the Shibata (I had removed the brush when I initially didn't like mine.

How do you think the 680 will compare to the cart you started this thread with? Will it be similar?

I have some decisions to make. I have a body for a 680EL and a Shure V15 Type II. Which should I spend the money on?
Click to expand...

I also have an old 680EL cart with an original D6800EL stylus. I figured it was only for DJs. Then I read on AK to try it on old 45s and man is that a match made in heaven. I never knew 45s could sound so good. I just put the D6800EL stylus on either my Stanton 681EEE or Pickering XV-15 cart, and set the tracking weight to about 2.2g

The more I learn about how versatile these Stantons and Pickerings are as carts, the more I appreciate them.

I also bought the LPGear shibata for my 681EEE some time back, and it is my favorite sounding combo. I can't wait to try a 890 SA with a shibata. I hope it comes as close to sounding like a 881EEE-S as possible.

Thanks for a great thread!

Rob
 
My son gave me an 890 SA body awhile back and it sat unused until whell started this thread :thmbsp: I eventually bought a D3001e stylus from KAB for it. Kevin highly recommends this combo and I have to agree. It is a killer combo for short money. Having said that, my son (bless'm) recently gave me a D81 stylus and all I can say is WOW. The Stereohedron stylus brings it all to another level. Also the LPGear Hyperelliptical for the 680/681 is great choice. Smooth with plenty of detail.

Cheers
 
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NASH said:
Thanks Whell for all the info. Its sounds like something I will have to try soon. Again though,which is your favorite stylus for the Stanton 890 that you have tried so far? Thanks
Nash
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I like the D81S the best. The Shibata is a VERY close second. It is a bit more analytical sounding to me, but still quite enjoyable. The D81E is good, but not quite in the same league: not as incisive, and a bit more surface noise. I've not yet tried the hyper-elliptical, but when I get a few spare bucks, I'm might order one up just for kicks.
 
Hi all!
a couple of weeks ago, while i was in the search for a second hand 680-681 in a dj shop, the owner showed me a Stanton 890...
i asked him some questions about, then asked if it has something in common with the legendary 881.
he told me it was exactly the same, excepted for the stylus.
he also wasn't as excited for it as for the 681eee, which he said was the very legendary cartridge from Stanton.

anyway, i was a little bit skeptic about his affirmation of the 890 being exactly the same as the 881, so here i am in the net looking for infos.
i have found somewhere the frequency responce of it, they state 20Hz-20KHz.
isn't a bit narrow for a hi end cart? may be the DJ stylus has to be blamed.
some technics carts are sporting a much wider range. also, do you know what is the channel separation?
anyone that has both 680-681 and 890? can you tell the difference?

i have found a couple of 890sa from a DJ for 60 EURO (82 USD). i will only use the bodyes, because their stylus are for scratch (and already hummered). are they worth it?

forgive my english
Francesco
 
Yes, scroll back to the first post in the thread. The DJ scratch stylus that comes with the 890 can be discarded if the cartridge is to be used for home stereo playback. The first post lists some stylus options that could be used to make the stylus appropriate for home use. The results with a good stylus are quite pleasing, and with the very best available stylus (such as the original D81S stylus - no longer available sadly, or the Jico Shibata), very engaging and dynamic.
 
It may not be a good idea to actually discard the original conical stylus. That .7 conical may be very nice for early 1950s 45 RPM as well as mono LPs of the same era.
 
I know it's a old thread, but...
Have some of you dome some experiments with this 890?
My bigger doubt is about the differences in models: 890 sa, 890 fs and 890 al.
Have they the same body? same specs? same stylus compatibility???
Note that if a stylus can fit, this doesn't necessarily mean it would sound correct.
So, does someone know the differences??
 
superfunk said:
I know it's a old thread, but...
Have some of you dome some experiments with this 890?
My bigger doubt is about the differences in models: 890 sa, 890 fs and 890 al.
Have they the same body? same specs? same stylus compatibility???
Note that if a stylus can fit, this doesn't necessarily mean it would sound correct.
So, does someone know the differences??
Click to expand...

Sounds terrific in my system, very very much like the 881S. Let your ears be your guide.
 
Here are my under $200 Greatest Hits
That I currently own and what I Paid.

Shure V-15 xMR Body $100 JICO SAS $132 total $232
Shure M97xE w/ JICO SAS total $110 Audiogon
Shure V15 IV Body $50 JICO HE $70 total $120
Empire LAC 600 body and two NOS Stylus $150
Empire 400 LTD body $20 used extra LAC 600 stylus above total $20
Audio Technica AT-15XE attached to Marnatz Headshell cost $50 but flipped head shell for $40 so, total cost for 15XE $10
Acutex 315 III body and low miles stylus $50
Grace F-9L Phono Cartridge low miles $95
 
if anybody is interested there is a Pickering xsv 3000 with a D 3000 on eBay ending in about 2 hours.
 
whell said:
Sounds terrific in my system, very very much like the 881S. Let your ears be your guide.
Click to expand...

Which model you suggest to get? 890SA, 890FS or what?
Also, i was looking on the jico website, they haven't got a SAS stylus for the 881.. the only one available is this one:
http://stylus.export-japan.com/product_info.php?products_id=1124

What's the best option for have it sounding the more 881-alike?
I'm not looking for smoothed, charming sound (for this, the 681eee is the choice), i need the realistic sound the 881 was able to reproduce.

Thanks guys
 
Sources?

I have 2 Stantons: the 880SA and 890SA.
Who supplies Shibatas for them and which model(s) please.
Thanks.
 
BrocLuno said:
Read through my post above for some leads. Do you want Shibata, or Stereohedron?
Click to expand...

I would prefer the SHibata.
It turns out I have 2 Stanton 890SA cartridges. It looks like none of the 3 suppliers mentioned above have a SHibata for the cartridge.
Which supplier has the stereohedron please.
 
Man, you guys are really making me want to buy a stylus for my 881S. Unfortunately, mine came with the 78rpm stylus which I have no use for.
 
Don't forget the Shure M91ED. You can pick up a cart on the bay between $20 and $30. Then add a JICO SAS to have a great sounding set up for under $200. Or you could go with a pfinera (sp wrong, $12 eBay stylus) and have a remarkably good sounding set up for under $40. I'm running both, along with a Stanton 680 w/ JICO Shabata. The Stanton comes in third...
 
Don't forget that the Pickering XSV/3000 has the same cartridge body as the Stantont 881S.

A very nice cartridge and sometimes i think it's a better cartridge body than its peer the V15-IV.
 
I have to go on record here. While the subject of pickering carts. Pickerings NP/AC cart. Now rebadged as the stanton 400v3 is pretty good bang for its buck too at 29.99. I use this cart all the time. I dont know where it holds up amongst the variety of carts there is to choose from these days. Ive tried a number of carts M91ed, AT95, and the blue dj cart shure makes. Also i own the NP/AC an OM20, Astatic MF200, and another shure cart(loaned out right now and cant remember which). This 30 dollar pickering is my favorite over all of em. I noticed on the 890SA that the output is 6.5 mV which is a lot higher then most of the carts ive listed here. The NP/AC's output is 10mV. I suggest if you have the extra cash to grab one of these and give a listen. The price kinda puts it into everyones budget.
 
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