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Are Boron Cantilevers Becoming Extinct?

AT-170ML and 180ML were boron pipe, as were some of the Monster carts. There were others, but I can't recall.
 
I believe the AT's weren't from PanaMat - they look like baseball bats in comparison to any PanaMat boron pipe cantilever. Stylus mounting wasn't nearly as impressive either. I think I have pics...
 
Situations in Turkey may have something to do with it like one of those essential ingredient type things
I believe they are the world's numero uno supplier of high grade boron
You never know who needs those sorts of things or the who or why gets what as for priority
Maybe kind of like what went down with alnico speaker magnets or the Shure V15 mystery discontinuance
Shure said that was a materials problem I believe
Not sure what it takes to make cantilevers though wouldn't think it would take a lot but who knows?
How much raw material and all to get the really refined stuff
 
These are at the same magnification.

205CMK3 - stylus shank inserted through laser-cut slot and glued. The 205CMK4 and 100CMK3/4 had far less glue.

IMG_0347.jpg
IMG_1304.jpg


AT170ML. Gold plated boron pipe, taper cut and set in a mess of glue.

IMG_0348.jpg


This is the bottom of the Technics pipes - 22ES - bonded elliptical glued on the end of the boron pipe. This isn't a microscope shot, just a zoomed pic.

22ES.jpg
 
JP: Are you sure the cantilever of the AT-ML170 actually is a pipe - or would you have front view as well? Because from the pic above it would look more like a rod type with bevelled area at the front to me...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Most literature says it's pipe, and the front view reflects that. Only way I can be 100% sure is to break one.
 
JP said:
Most literature says it's pipe, and the front view reflects that. Only way I can be 100% sure is to break one.
Click to expand...
I think pipes were more common than rods back then. Again, probably the same supplier for most brands. Sony and Shinon are 2 brands that used pipe for certain, but the Shinon may have used Sony generators to begin with.

The sculpted treatment your photos of the AT170 are showing is identical to what I see in the 150ANV, which is also a pipe, albeit sapphire.
 
Sony pipes weren't boron though, were they? Seems they're carbon fiber, IIRC.
 
"Sony produced many XL-MC versions until the mid 1980s, including high-end ones like the expensive and excellent (and physically a bit different) XL-MC7, XL-MC333E or ultimate XL-MC10. The latter even saw a T4P version (XL-MC104P) which makes for a double plug-in cartridge system - or plug-plug if you like.

The higher the better but the XL-MC3 already had a double super-elliptical nude diamond and boron tube cantilever."

http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-XL-MC1.html
 
Indeed, some of the pics I can find look like boron pipe. As a general rule I don't consider TVK an authoritative resource; owning and having worked on many of the top DD 'tables on their site, I know first-hand how inaccurate a lot of their data is.
 
I wasn't relying on TVK either in this case as my experience with these 2 examples is first hand. Matter of fact, I have an MC-3 here still sealed in it's triangular pyramid; I bought it 2 years ago but haven't been able to bring myself around to cutting the seals.:oops:

Other models in the Sony line might've been CF, I don't know, but CF wasn't all that commonly used for cantilevers back then, was it? I know it was being used for headshells...
 
BTW, I recall the boron cants back then as being flat black, whereas the rods now are slightly more grey and shiny. Not sure what accounts for the differences. :dunno:
 
XL-55 and some others have carbon fiber. I'm in the same boat as you though; I've an XL-33 and XL-44 that are factory sealed, and soon an XL-88D.
 
JP said:
XL-55 and some others have carbon fiber. I'm in the same boat as you though; I've an XL-33 and XL-44 that are factory sealed, and soon an XL-88D.
Click to expand...
Are we nuts or what?:rflmao:

The manual at VE claims it is "special light metal"....whatever that is. The CF seems to be used to buffer the needle from the rigid aluminum pipe that connects it to the armature. Sounds complicated! Reminds me of the Denon DL-103M that is claimed to have a boron cantilever, when in fact it appears to be the usual alloy pipe sleeved into a boron armature, based on the sample I have here.
 
I'll probably break down and open the XL-88D. How can you not? A one-piece stylus and cantilever from diamond is something that has to be tried.
 
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