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Anyone know anything about the brand tonar?

M

matt.zepess

New Member
Looking for a cheap stylus for a stanton 500-II and tonar seems to be the next up from a pfanstiehl which I haven't heard good things about... Anyone know if its any good? (They seem to be selling for around $20ish)
 
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matt.zepess said:
Looking for a cheap stylus for a stanton 500-II and tonar seems to be the next up from a pfanstiehl which I haven't heard good things about... Anyone know if its any good? (They seem to be selling for around $20ish)
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Pickupnaalden.com sells Tonar brand replacement stylus.

It is a reputable company, the Tonar stylus should be of good quality.

No direct experience with this particular stylus. :no:
http://www.pickupnaalden.com/english/turntable_needles.asp?M=Stanton_500-AL-MKII__8104
 
Any clue if a
KentTeffeteller said:
On Stanton 500 generics, Jico or other Japanese sourced styli are best. Tonar often uses Nagaoka sourced generic replacements, and those are of high quality.
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So you would say to buy it for only $20? Not using this forever since I'm planning on picking up something like a m97xe for my birthday in less then a month.
 
My Tonar brand N91 stylus is superior to my EVG brand styli. Not quite what my original N91ed is, but not very far off either.
you might also research if there is an Empire replacement stylus in that same area of money, as my Empire N91 stylus is the equal of my original in most areas, superior in some.
 
With the Tonar styli, are we talking about current production or some old stock? Though it might be the company itself still has a lot of old stock... Anyway, a potential problem is some seller in eBay might have 30 year old stock of Tonar N91ED styli, while purchasing one from somewhere else might yield you a Tonar N91ED stylus that was made last year :)
 
It sure would be great if they were of current manufacture. The one I got for my M91 is very good. It would be great to find that more were available and continue to be that way for a while. I will say that the paper on the packaging appears new. No signs of oxidation at all.
 
I have purchased from the website listed above. Excellent product and service. They sell JICO and Nagaoka as well as some OEM. With EVG now sourcing from the same manufacturer(with limited model selection/production) as Pfanstiehl it is great to know there is a website with an incredible selection of styli. (And Japanese sourced !!).
 
matt.zepess said:
So most likely a good temporary replacement ... but I should look into getting a newer cartridge soon.
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There are people using 40+ year old Stanton 500 cartridges (or their identical cousin Pickering V-15s) and loving them, in some cases loving them MORE than much more recent cartridges they also use some of the time. It isn't like a Stanton 500 is going to wear-out short of a coil burning out, which is easy enough to check for.

@Matt_zepess , I hope you don't throw out the Stanton when you get that Shure M97XE. Not everybody likes the XE, and you might find that some of your records sound better with the Stanton. Better to get a second headshell (or cartridge holder) for your tonearm, so you can switch cartridges when you want to.

I wouldn't part with my Pickering V-15. It's got a character all of its own.

.
 
illinoisteve said:
There are people using 40+ year old Stanton 500 cartridges (or their identical cousin Pickering V-15s) and loving them, in some cases loving them MORE than much more recent cartridges they also use some of the time. It isn't like a Stanton 500 is going to wear-out short of a coil burning out, which is easy enough to check for.

@Matt_zepess , I hope you don't throw out the Stanton when you get that Shure M97XE. Not everybody likes the XE, and you might find that some of your records sound better with the Stanton. Better to get a second headshell (or cartridge holder) for your tonearm, so you can switch cartridges when you want to.

I wouldn't part with my Pickering V-15. It's got a character all of its own.

.
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I noticed that it okay to post styli sources on here. Pfanstiehl has a limited selection of styli for popular older MM and MI cartridges. EVG used to have more selections but, currently, they are using the same Swiss supplier as Pfanstiehl. Tonar's suppliers include JICO and Nagaoka. I have a Pickering XV/15 in my desk drawer. It came with a Garrard Lab 80 that I bought. That particular Lab 80 does not work. I have one working Lab 80 and it currently has a GE VR 1000 in the attached headshell. I have read some great comments about the XV/15. I gather it is very similar to a Stanton 681 or something like that. I noticed that this website has a huge selection for Pickering and Stanton replacement styli: https://www.pickupnaalden.com/english/default.asp LPGear has a great selection too. LPGear's most expensive for the XV/15 appears to be a VividLine which I think is a line contact and Pickupnaalden even offers a Shibata. Trying to keep up with who offers what, and the stylus numbers for the original stylus translated to the aftermarket stylus number by brand is daunting. If I buy an exotic stylus profile for the Pickering, it would get mounted in my RB 202 tonearm. I have the multi post Rega VTA adjuster. I will have to look to see if anyone sells an infinitely variable VTA adjuster for the Rega as I know that SRA is critical with exotic profiles. I cannot picture myself with a microscope like Michael Fremer has to get that 92 degree SRA though. LOL. Maybe I need to stick to ellipticals.
 
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