Elac STS 455?

[02County]

I recently acquired an Elac Miracord 50h II in excellent condition. There's just one thing - the cart is an Elac STS 455 with a dead stylus. I can't seem to find a good source for a replacement - can anyone tell me anything about these carts and are there reasonable replacements out there? Thanks -

 

[Nat]

It seems to me that there are aftermarket stylii out there. Elac cartridges have a good reputation though not well known in the US. I have a 244 with a generic stylus and it is a pleasant warm sounding cartridge. I suspect with a better stylus it would be a bit more incisive.

 

[Nat]

William Thacker seems to have a wide choice of options from conical to elliptical. The ellipticals are made by Jico apparently. You can find a conical for about 20 bucks on ebay, and a Jico elliptical for 70-80 there/. Thacker may or may not be more expensive.

 

[02County]

William Thacker? Thanks, I'll check him/it out -

 

[Nat]

Just google your cartridge. His site and others show up. Ebay is also a good place to look.
Thakker may be the way its actually spelled. He appears to have a good reputation on Vinyl Engine which is a little more eurocentric than AK.

 

[sberger]

Yup get it from Thacker. That is a great cart. I think he might even have NOS originals.

 

[02County]

Yeah, I know nothing about Elac carts. But the ones on Thakker's site are listed for 200 euros. Not bad for a free table!