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AT12SaPQ Cartridge - Keep or replace?

cecilk

cecilk

Active Member
I have a Pioneer PL-115D turntable that came with an AT12SaPQ cartridge.

The "Sa" seems to stand for "Shibata". I have found no official account of what the "PQ" stands for. However, a post on Vinylengine suggests that this cartridge was marketed as quadraphonic. However, there are four pins on the cartridge like any other stereo cart so I don't see how it could actually be quadraphonic.

The stylus on it was bent and a little crooked - it plays ok but left channel is loud and clear and right channel is quiet. Definitely needs replacing. It requires an ATN12S stylus. Prices range from $150 - 200. That's a little steep. I could buy a new cartridge and an extra stylus for that price.

Should I keep this sweet but pricey vintage AT cart or sell it and replace it with a modern cart (Ortofon Red 2M or Shure M97xE) with more reasonable stylus prices?

My system:
Pioneer PL-115D
Sansui G-4500 Receiver
Sansui SP-3500 speakers
 
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I personally really like Audio-Technica cartridges of that vintage. The sound quality is excellent. Wish I had a tonearm light enough for my AT13EaX.

See if you can find the ATN12Ea stylus. It's not a Shibata, but a nude square-shank 0.2x0.7 mil elliptical. Tracks fabulously and should be less expensive than the ATN12Sa.

BTW, quadrophonic cartridges don't require more pins than stereophonic, the "extra" 2 channels are encoded in the high-frequency region (up to 50 kHz) and require a special decoder.
 
cecilk said:
I have a Pioneer PL-115D turntable that came with an AT12SaPQ cartridge.

The "Sa" seems to stand for "Shibata". I have found no official account of what the "PQ" stands for. However, a post on Vinylengine suggests that this cartridge was marketed as quadraphonic. However, there are four pins on the cartridge like any other stereo cart so I don't see how it could actually be quadraphonic.

The stylus on it was bent and a little crooked - it plays ok but left channel is loud and clear and right channel is quiet. Definitely needs replacing. It requires an ATN12S stylus. Prices range from $150 - 200. That's a little steep. I could buy a new cartridge and an extra stylus for that price.

Should I keep this sweet but pricey vintage AT cart or sell it and replace it with a modern cart (Ortofon Red 2M or Shure M97xE) with more reasonable stylus prices?

My system:
Pioneer PL-115D
Sansui G-4500 Receiver
Sansui SP-3500 speakers
Click to expand...


The ATN 12XE stylus plays just fine in that cart body.
 
I've got one of these carts...and I've been looking around for an alternative stylus. Hopefully, someone with some experience with this cartridge will chime in.
 
Bourbon said:
I've got one of these carts...and I've been looking around for an alternative stylus. Hopefully, someone with some experience with this cartridge will chime in.
Click to expand...
I have. I own a 12Sa cart, with original styli, and the 12XE stylus. the 12XE plays just fine. the 12 Sa body is better than the 12 body because it is lower inductance.
I'll go further, the 12XE in the Sa body sounds better than the 12Sa stylus in the 12 body......again, due to IMO the lower inductance.
 
marcmorin said:
I have. I own a 12Sa cart, with original styli, and the 12XE stylus. the 12XE plays just fine. the 12 Sa body is better than the 12 body because it is lower inductance.
I'll go further, the 12XE in the Sa body sounds better than the 12Sa stylus in the 12 body......again, due to IMO the lower inductance.
Click to expand...

Are the 12XE styli still made/sold? I can't seem to find anything but generic replacements.
 
Bourbon said:
Are the 12XE styli still made/sold? I can't seem to find anything but generic replacements.
Click to expand...
Look on the auction site, a quick Google search turned up a seller with more than 10 NOS stylii for sale. LP Gear has the ATN12S shibata stylii for sale, albeit at a high price ($199), they also have the VividLine.
 
stratokaster said:
See if you can find the ATN12Ea stylus. It's not a Shibata, but a nude square-shank 0.2x0.7 mil elliptical. Tracks fabulously and should be less expensive than the ATN12Sa.
Click to expand...

marcmorin said:
The ATN 12XE stylus plays just fine in that cart body.
Click to expand...

Thank you both for the suggestions - I will add these two to my list of stylii to watch for.

I saw a lot of modern ATN 12XE stylii - Like this one by Jico - are these decent? Or should I hold out for a deal on an NOS stylus?
 
marcmorin said:
I have. I own a 12Sa cart, with original styli, and the 12XE stylus. the 12XE plays just fine. the 12 Sa body is better than the 12 body because it is lower inductance.
I'll go further, the 12XE in the Sa body sounds better than the 12Sa stylus in the 12 body......again, due to IMO the lower inductance.
Click to expand...

marcmorin said:
http://www.stereoneedles.com/audio-technica.html
Click to expand...

Many thanks for this advice. On the chance that the supply might be low, I bought two of these 12XE styli. They absolutely rock on my Marantz 6300.
 
Balifly said:
Just to confirm that the :
http://www.stereoneedles.com/audio-technica.html

site is still operational and still in business. :) :idea:
Click to expand...

Yes, they're still in business, but their web pages indicate that they are out of stock on many styli models. That's why I decided to buy two of the 12XE styli instead of just one. I didn't want to be out of luck if I needed a backup at a later date. And, as Cecil mentioned, they pack their goods well.
 
8B18D5E3-47D5-4EFE-9DBE-CC6FEAC1BD43.jpeg D0E5B52F-D949-47ED-82D6-F4682F5324A5.jpeg Old thread but, can anyone identify this stylus? It came on this Audio Technica AT12SaPQ cartridge. All the styli I’ve found online have audio technica writin on it whereas this has just the logo? Found it on a Dual CS-528 that may or may not be repairable for super cheap at the flea so I think I did alright.
 
Tflapjacks said:
Old thread but, can anyone identify this stylus? It came on this Audio Technica AT12SaPQ cartridge. All the styli I’ve found online have audio technica writin on it whereas this has just the logo?

Found it on a Dual CS-528 that may or may not be repairable for super cheap at the flea so I think I did alright.
Click to expand...

Probably a replacement stylus, may not be made by Audio Technica Japan. :idea:
 
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