Audio Technica P-Mount styli NOT from LPGear/LPTunes?

[vproc]

Recently, I had been looking into getting a higher end replacement stylus for my AT92E P-mount cart, settling on a microline from LPGear. They proceeded to ship me a bent stylus, blame the damages on me, and refuse to authorize a return. Long story short, I don’t really feel like giving them more money right now.

In terms of other options, I couldn’t find much except the BLISS brand from turntableneedles.com. They’ve got a shibata, linear contact, and two hyperellipticals I could try (links below). I’ve seen these mentioned here or there, but outside of the reviews on their website, it seems like opinions are mixed (as quality depends on their current supplier), so I’m left wondering if they’d still be a good buy. What do you all think? Any other places I could buy good replacement styli?

ATS8008 Type Shibata Stylus for Audio-Technica AT8008 - our Needle 213-DSH

Natural Linear Contact Stylus for Audio-Techinca AT3482P etc | Turntable Needles

ATS6006 Type Stylus for Studio Reference Series 6006 cartridge - our Needle 213-DHE

Hyperelliptical Upgrade for audio-techinca AT3482P AT85EP etc | TurntableNeedles

 

[ear4audio]

Buy directly from Audio Technica.

ATN3472SE Replacement Stylus​

 

[vproc]

I would if they sold anything better than a basic elliptical

 

[KentTeffeteller]

I would if they sold anything better than a basic elliptical

They once did. Long discontinued. A mount which has had no new turntables built for it since 2002. Meaning 24 years ago. Down to only one manufacturer building them currently. And one discontinued model which can use current styli and the Ortofon OM-P (if you can find a body) which has the Stylus 10-40 available. Reality today. Many if not most generic styli if not most need more tracking force than T4p mount turntables can provide.

 

[vproc]

I love P-mount, but P-mount is only getting harder to love… Maybe it’s time I look into standard mount. Or bite the bullet on those bliss styli.

 

[loudnoises]

Just very little demand for fancy cuts in the pmount world. Did AT ever make better than a nude elliptical?

Repackaged oem styli in aftermarket packs is currently the best source for many old styli. Combine with patience for best results.

 

[lini]

(...) Did AT ever make better than a nude elliptical? (...)

Of course they did - in the AT102P family the ATN142LP (nude LC on tapered alu), ATN152LP (nude LC on beryllium) and ATN152MLP (nude ML on beryllium).

Whereas in the 201P and 300P families the top needles merely were bonded LC on tapered alu (ATN231LP and ATN3472LC) - with the exception of this small special batch of rather oddish ATN3472MLs (with bonded ML on straight alu), which was offered by LPGear some years ago.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[jqp]

I have an original AT92ecd and am very happy with it. I load all my AT cartridges at 47k, 100 pf, the lower end of AT specifications. Most AT cartridges users are probably well above 200 pf, or might not know what the load specification is or even care or have a way of adjusting the load.

 

[Bourbon]

I love P-mount, but P-mount is only getting harder to love… Maybe it’s time I look into standard mount. Or bite the bullet on those bliss styli.

I'm still a big p-mount fan...

Thread 'The P-Mount owners club'

Oct 20, 2017

P-mount cartridges get a bad rap. However, some of these carts perform quite well. This thread is dedicated to those p-mount carts that are surprisingly good - or bad.

Feel free to list the p-mounts that you own, the stylus/styli that you use with it/them, and the table that you have or are using. Hopefully, others might read this and add one or two to their collection.

I'll start: I've got a pair of Technics SL-MA1 tables. One is a convertible and uses both standard and p-mount carts. The other is a more common p-mount only table.

On these tables, I use a few different...

• Bourbon
• Replies: 931
• Forum: Turntables

• 

 

[narud]

id just switch to the other at p mount body. then you could use the currently available line contact models. the added weight of the stylus grip and guard get you close to the tracking weight needed and depending on your turntable, you could adjust the tracking force to get to the two grams. the technics p mount tables i have allow for some small tracking force adjustments. the super common and cheap bodies will tame some of the brightness people complain about since theyre solid core or you could hunt down a 132ep or above body or signet am10 which have laminated cores which will get the stylus closer to its intended frequency response.

 

[vproc]

you could hunt down a 132ep or above body or signet am10

I’d love to have either of these. Unfortunately, being old upper-end p-mounts, they’d probably run me more than the stylus itself. A quick eBay search yields nothing for the 132ep (but I did find a 231LP for $150—wonder if that one is any good?) and an am10 for $250.

I'm still a big p-mount fan...

Don’t worry, I still am too. P-mounts should have been the standard evolution to standard mount, and I will die on that hill.

 

[lini]

(...) but I did find a 231LP for $150—wonder if that one is any good?) and an am10 for $250. (...)

Personally I'd deem an AT231LP for 150 bucks not a bad idea, if new old stock. Mind you, though, that the 201P family has nothing to do with the 102P family - so there aren't any current AT replacement needles for the 201P family models.

Whereas I'd deem a new old stock AM10P for 250 bucks rather overpriced, as the SAM10 only is a bonded, medium-sharp elliptical needle. So you'd be paying quite a lot for a good body with a comparatively unattractive needle.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[vproc]

Personally I'd deem an AT231LP for 150 bucks not a bad idea, if new old stock. Mind you, though, that the 201P family has nothing to do with the 102P family - so there aren't any current AT replacement needles for the 201P family models.

Whereas I'd deem a new old stock AM10P for 250 bucks rather overpriced, as the SAM10 only is a bonded, medium-sharp elliptical needle. So you'd be paying quite a lot for a good body with a comparatively unattractive needle.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Thanks for the advice! The 231LP looks to be an auction item with the “Buy Now” price at $150. Currently it’s at $99 with zero bids, so I suppose I’ll put down $100 and see where that goes.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

I’d love to have either of these. Unfortunately, being old upper-end p-mounts, they’d probably run me more than the stylus itself. A quick eBay search yields nothing for the 132ep (but I did find a 231LP for $150—wonder if that one is any good?) and an am10 for $250.


Don’t worry, I still am too. P-mounts should have been the standard evolution to standard mount, and I will die on that hill.

I didn't particularly like them when new (except for the linear tracking models). Too inflexible. 6 grams mass, 1.25 grams tracking force (with .5 grams leeway). And 4-5 years of higher end models really being developed. On lower end rack system pivoted arm turntables OK.

It should never have been forced on most Technics pivoted arm models. What should have happened is the Technics T4p mount headshell packed in the box with the 1/2" mount pivoted arm turntables and the conventional headshell also included. This would have given their owners freedom of choice.

The Technics T4p mount headshell instead of the adapters should have been popular. (it was the superior approach to using those cartridges on regular arms.) I wish that headshell had been more available (I liked that method) and wish other Japanese manufacturers had offered similar ones). This also would have been obsolescence proof. I liked several T4p cartridges adapted for 1/2" use (Audio-Technica especially and several of the Shures, in the day for the price).

 

[flavio81]

Thanks for the advice! The 231LP looks to be an auction item with the “Buy Now” price at $150. Currently it’s at $99 with zero bids, so I suppose I’ll put down $100 and see where that goes.

There's an alternative. Get this cartridge body:
It is available under many names like AT112EP, SLT96E, etc.



--- and then fit a stylus for the VM5xx cartridge line, like the AT-VMN40ML stylus (the one used in the VM-540ML cartridge).

The VTF will be perfectly correct if you bump your VTF adjuster to the "1.5g" setting.

Sound quality will be extremely good. Been there, done that!

The Technics T4p mount headshell instead of the adapters should have been popular. (it was the superior approach to using those cartridges on regular arms.) I wish that headshell had been more available (I liked that method) and wish other Japanese manufacturers had offered similar ones). This also would have been obsolescence proof.

Agree!!

 

[vproc]

There's an alternative. Get this cartridge body:
It is available under many names like AT112EP, SLT96E, etc.

View attachment 3787427

--- and then fit a stylus for the VM5xx cartridge line, like the AT-VMN40ML stylus (the one used in the VM-540ML cartridge).

The VTF will be perfectly correct if you bump your VTF adjuster to the "1.5g" setting.

Sound quality will be extremely good. Been there, done that!



Agree!!

Good call! I’d do that if I hadn't won the bid on the 231 (and honestly, I am quite curious to see how it sounds).

The Technics T4p mount headshell instead of the adapters should have been popular.

Huh, I didn’t even know they made these…sounds like something I could get behind.

 

[stanwebber]

shure is gone (live just a couple villages over from them). the only t4p games in town are at, ortofon & grado. the alternative is to just wait a few years. i listened to test tones on youtube the other day and gasp! i can't even hear a 12khz tone now. i think my hearing was in the mid 20's just over a decade ago.

my favorite t4p at stylus isn't even a .3x.7. it's a .4x.7 ss335e/u with the special polish. i have linear contact styli for the gen 1 & 3 t4p at bodies, but they never really impressed me.

 

[sound hound]

What do you all think? Any other places I could buy good replacement styli?

Well, there is always the possibility of finding a used stylus, eg on the auction site, that still has a lot of life left in it. I recommend looking at the other forums here for recommendations for an inexpensive but still useful microscope for evaluating the wear on a stylus. It can also be useful in examining a stylus that is sold as new to evaluate whether it is actually new or not. I have found that some styli sold as new actually have wear on them, others are damaged in other ways that are easier to evaluate through a microscope than with the naked eye.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

shure is gone (live just a couple villages over from them). the only t4p games in town are at, ortofon & grado. the alternative is to just wait a few years. i listened to test tones on youtube the other day and gasp! i can't even hear a 12khz tone now. i think my hearing was in the mid 20's just over a decade ago.

my favorite t4p at stylus isn't even a .3x.7. it's a .4x.7 ss335e/u with the special polish. i have linear contact styli for the gen 1 & 3 t4p at bodies, but they never really impressed me.

Grado has ceased making T4p mount cartridges altogether. Ortofon has not made T4p mount cartridges in some years (though the OM-P still has Stylus 10-30 still available). Audio-Technica is now the only remaining manufacturer of T4p mount cartridges.

 

[stanwebber]

has grado completely changed their standard cartridge form factor? can't you still get styli from them close enough in compliance that will fit the sister t4p carts? the last new t4p cart (not nos) i purchased was a shure m92e so yeah, i'm way out of the loop.