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EVG 629 DE Stylus

Donal64

Donal64

Well-Known Member
Ended up buying a Pioneer Pl-200 turntable I had looked at a few weeks ago. When I checked the cartridge, I found it was an AT912SA. The stylus that is on it sounds really good. It has the AT emblem on it and is sorta cream color, may be considered white, I don't know. I'm thinking this may be the original stylus that came with this cartridge. My research indicates that it may be a Shibata. From what I have read, Shibata is good. About a week ago, I bought a replacement stylus for my Audio Technica cartridge MG200E. The stylus was a EVG 629-DE .2mil x .7mil Pfanstiehl made in Switzerland. Another vendor has a stylus listed EVG 629-DE .3mil x .7mil made at the Jico plant in Japan. I'm wondering is one of these preferable to the other. And I am also wondering about the same style/model number stylus with different dimensions being made by different companies. On a side note, the vendor who sold me the 629-DE .2mil x .7mil, when I contacted him about a stylus for the AT912SA ,said he did not have the stylus needed for that cartridge. The vendor who has the 629-DE .3mil x .7mil responded that the 629-DE would fit the AT912SA. I tried the 629-DE that I had on hand and it seemed to fit and work well enough.
 
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Au contraire. I have a Pfan Swiss 629-DE and it's excellent. In fact, all the Pfan Swiss AT styli I own are excellent. I've had more hit-or-miss experience with EVG (in general). I haven't used any EVG on an AT; I can't imagine them possibly being any better than Pfanstiehl.
 
The EVG styli are made by Jico and supposed to be of very good quality. Jico only makes a .03x.07 elliptical. The Pfanstiehl are made as you say in Switzerland. The Pfanstiehl quality has been pretty questionable in the past. Several people here have reported having very good results with the new .02x.07 mil Pfanstiehls. I purchased one to try but have not mounted it yet. Give yours a listen and let us know what you think. The biggest problem reported with the Pfanstiehls seems to be sibilance. You may have to increase to near 2 grams to get rid of it.
 
I just double/triple/four times checked. Both vendors have the exact same listing title on ebay for the 629-DE. One has it made by Pfan in Switz. with .2mil x.7mil. The other has it made in Japan at the Jico plant and is .3mil x .7mil. Both are EVG 629-DE. From this I deduce that EVG has different makers supplying the same part, but with slightly different specs.

"Several people here have reported having very good results with the new .02x.07 mil Pfanstiehls. I purchased one to try but have not mounted it yet. Give yours a listen and let us know what you think."

I did use this stylus with the AT912SA cart on the PL-200. I listened to one side of an album, and did wonder did I hear just a bit of sibilance, which I did not notice with the original stylus. I had the tracking force set at about 1.25. I was listening while doing something else. I'll pay closer attention next time.
 
A stylus is made of different parts, the plastic assembly, the cantilever, the tip, the brush... Putting it all together (aka 'assembly') is another process that can be out sourced and performed by different parties. It is never clear which part is actually made where.

I won't be surprised if the same after market product is described in different ways by different vendors while all at the same time it's the exact same thing. Sometimes the branding of an after market stylus adds up to just the repackaging. Not saying this is the case here, just reminding it's sort of a "wild west" type of market.
 
I just installed one of these on an AT10. I don't have much to compare to. But at the very least, it's noticeably more detailed compared to an AT92e on a universal adapter, for around the same price.
 
I've tried a few of the Pfans, and have good response on most except the d81 stylus replacement,it does need the extra weight on it to sound good. I'm actually using the Pfan 4822-DEE on my 881S right now with good results.
 
I purchased a 629-de when they were $14 for the .2x.7 tip. I installed on an old AT-VM8 H2 cartridge. Awesome fidelity. Minimal sibilance. So impressed I bought two more. These styli will fit many AT cartridges including the AT-12s. Listening to it right now playing Heartbeat City by the Cars. ST. Vinies $1.99. These guys are pretty good ! Never knew they did "Drive" How can this album be 35 years old already. Needledaddy had a 100% 5 star rating for this stylus. Mine is the dark green color. Swiss made.
 
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regore said:
I purchased a 629-de when they were $14 for the .2x.7 tip. I installed on an old AT-VM8 H2 cartridge. Awesome fidelity. Minimal sibilance. So impressed I bought two more. These styli will fit many AT cartridges including the AT-12s. Listening to it right now playing Heartbeat City by the Cars. ST. Vinies $1.99. These guys are pretty good ! Never knew they did "Drive" How can this album be 35 years old already. Needledaddy had a 100% 5 star rating for this stylus. Mine is the dark green color. Swiss made.
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The supply of these stylus have dried up. Supposedly Swiss made Pfans should come back into stock eventually. But as of now, they're impossible to get for anywhere near what they used to cost.
 
They may be back already ! Two vendors are selling the 629-de .2x.7 stylus for $17 shipped. That's a lot better than the $119 I've seen the last few months.
 
regore said:
They may be back already ! Two vendors are selling the 629-de .2x.7 stylus for $17 shipped. That's a lot better than the $119 I've seen the last few months.
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Yup, now I feel silly for ordering 3 at $84 shipped. Oh well, I actually managed to wear out my first one after 3 years of use, started having very noticeable IGD. But honestly, it still sounded great during the first half of any record.
 
regore said:
They may be back already ! Two vendors are selling the 629-de .2x.7 stylus for $17 shipped. That's a lot better than the $119 I've seen the last few months.
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I've read the vendor with the $119 stylus raises his price when almost out of stock as a placeholder. Prices come down when restocked. Right now Shures are high. I hope to see some .2x.7 tips when restocked.
 
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