Help Identifying Audio-Technica Cart/Stylus

[Doug G.]

I'm sorry I didn't get back with the information in the other thread, Manfred.

The shank on my ATN12S stylus is cylindrical and also, the more I look at it, the more I believe it is a bonded stylus.

The diamond seems to go all the way to the cantilever but there is a color change right below the cantilever, I think that is the metal shank. It's just that, with most bonded styli, the metal shank starts much lower and is obvious.

I did think the color change could be adhesive but now I believe it is the metal shank.

Doug

 

[lini]

Doug: Och, no problemo - if this thread hadn't reminded me, I probably would have forgotten about it anyway... And no worries, sometimes it's really hard to tell apart a bonded one from a nudie with round shank. For example, after a first, quick inspection, I had thought the ATN13EaV was a round shank nudie for quite a while - until a fellow user whom I know from two German turntable related forums brought up the topic again a couple of months ago, so that I've checked mine for a second time, but more thoroughly: And indeed his findings were correct, as my exemplar also turned out to be a bonded one - so the ATN13EaV (and most probably also the ATN13EaX) in fact isn't just a little bit, but quite a good bit cheapified in diamond quality compared to the regular, suffix-less ATN13.

Anyway, I think we can now agree on that it might be smarter to preferably go for the ATS12S instead of the ATN12S, as one might be lucky and get a nude exemplar.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[Balifly]

However, the ATN120E nevertheless just sports a round shank nudie with medium sharp tip on straight alu cantilever, which I wouldn't really rate as very good on an absolute needle quality scale. Very good on my scale in the realm of ATs would rather be the "13 level" (e.g. ATN13, ATN130E/132EP) with a better quality and better polished nudie with rectangular shank and sharp tip on tapered alu cantilever. And these can still be found for pretty fair prices - which is why I'd rate the ATN130E/132EP as pretty much the best upgrade for an AT120E in terms of performance per price. While the ATN150E, which also is still available from a couple of dealers, sports practically the same type of diamond tip as the "13 level" needles, but on a straight beryllium cantilever. To my ears also a very nice sounding needle, although at its current price level I think many people would rather be allured by the AT needles with more sophisticated tip shapes, but lower cantilever quality like the ATN140LC or ATN440MLa. Whereas the very best elliptical for the AT120 family ever was the very rare ATN150Ea, which to my knowledge should have carried an even lighter, square shank nudie on tapered, gold coated beryllium cantilever: sweet - but afaik these have never been officially offered by AT in America and over here in Europe.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Thanks for the detail explanation! :thmbsp:

Some of my friends are fixate at the shape of the stylus, Shibata.

They don't seem to realize that there is also mounting of the tip and the type cantilever to consider as well.