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Audio-Technica AT331E cartridge - opinions?

Roypercy

Roypercy

Super Member
Hi, I just got one of these when it was mounted on a turntable I reconditioned. The stylus is shot. Does anybody know this particular cartridge? What would it compare to in the Audio Technica lineup? When I try a Google search it most often brings me the AT 33E, but this one is a 331E. Are they the same? Or is Google just hallucinating?

Is it worth buying a replacement stylus for this, and if so, any recommendations?

Thanks

Roy
 
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Very different beasts. Anyway, if you're ever looking for an MC the 33 series are pretty much the best bang for the buck there are. And the old 33s, like the 33E and the 33ML, with beryllium cantilever are quite superb in my opinion. I have one of each and they're up there with the best, particularly in terms of detail retrieval. The E's 0.2 x 0.7 elliptical is way better than the typical, fatter elliptical and of course the ML is a Micro Line. 'Nuff said.

Both can be readily found on the bay for not a great deal of money.
 
As Malden said, it's pretty basic. Here is a previous reference to it in AK:

PJ62

Thread 'Audio Technica ID'

At an estate sale, I see a BIC tt with this AT cart on it. I'm trying to do an ID with my phone, the closest I can find is an AT 331E. Is that what this is? And if it is AT 331E, is that any good?

IMG_8371.JPG
 
Just out of curiosity, what would be a good cheap replacement stylus for this cartridge? I'd like to get it working as a give-away if I flip a turntable.
 
I do not have that LP Gear stylus but a similar one for AT-91. OEM was conical and the LP Gear is elliptical. Nice improvement for small layout. Only minus was slow shipping, not horrible just annoying. You know how it is waiting for new toys. I'd say go for it.
 
I have to agree with some of the others out there that this might be a good time to upgrade to something more readily available. It depends on your budget. Sorry I’ve been out of the game for awhile so I don’t have any modern cart recommendations.

Having said that your AT331E can easily be made into a much better cart to get you started.
Yours originally came with a 0.4 x 0.7 mil Elliptical diamond stylus. That relatively big 0.4 mil tip will not get very deep into the record grooves and will miss a lot of the sound detail.
The LP Gear Elliptical Styus that Belfaborac linked may be more of the same. I would look at some of the Upgrade Stylus Options LP Gear listed at the bottom of that link.
A better stylus with a better tip will turn that AT331E from a basic sounding cartridge into something special.

- Old Man Rambling Mode On –
Back in the day I went down the rabbit hole of 4 Channel Quad. The grandfather of Surround Sound.
One of the things you needed to decode Quadrial Records was a quality cartridge that had a quality Stylus that could get deep into the record grooves to extract those sonic details we all want. A major side benefit was that they sounded great.
In my quest to decode Quad I collected some very nice vintage carts like Shure, Audio Tecnica, and others.
For my birthday in 2007 I bought Two of the last NOS AT331LP carts from LP Gear. They were the P-Mount black body AT331 with a red ‘Line Contact’ Stylus. They worked for Quad and sounded great but I did not like having to use the supplied half-inch adapter mount for my Dual 1220Q.

Bottom line is don’t rule out your AT331. Keep it and within your budget put a better upgraded stylus on it and I think you will be surprised.
- Old Man Rambling Mode OFF –
 
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