New Stylus for Audio-Technica AT-13Ea?

[Stooker]

Hi everyone - I've got a question about styli for an Audio-Technica AT-13Ea cartridge. Lpgear.com recommends an ATN-13EaX needle for this cart. The auction site has what looks like an ATN-13EaV in "AM of Denmark" packaging for half the price which they're claiming is a genuine Audio-Technica product. Would that work as well?

The cartridge came on a tag-sale Philips 212 that I've had for a while and I assume it would benefit from a new stylus. It sounds pretty nice now (pretty great, actually) but I can hear some "crackling" distortion in vocals particularly near the end of records. Looks like it's worth keeping this cartridge so I ask your advice!

Cheers,
Eric

 

[danj]

They'll both work. I think the only difference is stylus profile.

 

[whell]

AM of Denmark is an aftermarket stylus manufacturer. They may have made some styli for AT or others, but quality is always a factor. Some have had good experiences, some not. The problem with items purchased on "that auction site" is that they are not often returnable if there is a quality issue.

The ATN-13Eax looks like the real deal. The nude elliptical stylus configuration requires somewhat delicate manufacturing, and the results are almost always worth the extra $$$.

 

[gusten]

If You look at stereoneedles.com, there are two original needles that fit the AT-13Ea. One elliptical and one Shibata. These are the originals with a nude square shank and a tapered cantilever. Do not choose anything aftermarket for these fine cartridges, if You want them to sound as they should.
gusten

 

[lini]

Eric: I've just checked that eBay offer: That indeed looks like one of the cases, where you get an original stylus in 3rd party packaging.

And yes, you can go for the ATN13EaV just as well. It's exactly identical to the ATN13EaX (0.2 x 0.7 mil elliptical, nude diamond with round shank on tapered alu cantilever) - the EaX to my knowledge just was kind of a bulk version of the EaV that only came pre-mounted, but wasn't available separately. In addition, on the EaX the plastic carrier of the needle initially was dark green coloured and only later on became the same orange-red as on the ATN13EaX and ATN13. The latter was the original needle for the AT13Ea, btw - and fits on the AT13EaV/EaX bodies just as well. The main visual difference on this one is that the AT logo is imprinted in gold instead of white and without the model number of the cart imprinted above that - and technically it ranks a tad higher as it's using a diamond with rectangular shank. Well, and the other two original needles you could use are the ATN14 (that's the nude Shibata needle for the AT14Sa) and the ATN14E (which is a pretty rare nude elliptical version, but I'm not sure whether it's any better than the ATN13...).

Anyway, that AM-packed ATN13EaV seems pretty attractive for the price. I'd recommend to go for that...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini