New stylus, or new cartridge?

[Fast_Eddie]

My Technics SL 1200 mkII has the cartridge and stylus that were on it when I got it. It's a Stanton - says EEE III on it. I've never been happy with the shound. Kind of sibilant. I'm thinking I should buy a new stylus, but it's $70. I'd be well on my way to a new cartridge at that price. Should I keep the Stanton, or are there better cartridges I should consider before spending that much money?


Ed

 

[www.records]

I use a Goldring 1042 on my SL1300 with very good results. I also have a Denon 110 that is a great cart on the Technics. I am not sure what the sonic signature is on your Stanton. How would you describe it's sound, besides sibilance? ( Which sounds like it might be an alignment problem.)

 

[OvenMaster]

Ed, just my two cents but I can sum up my advice to you in two words: Ortofon OM10.
Tom

 

[amason3]

For $70 go with a new cart.

 

[ByrdWyngs]

I've got a 681EEE on my TD-145 and it has a very well balanced sound. Smooth, rich, musical, not at all shrill or sibilant. Either your stylus is shot or you do have an allignment / adjustment problem. Did you add a gram to the VTF for the brush? You should have VTF set to about 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 grams. Have you checked VTA and azimuth? A new 681EEE is $130 at needledoctor so around $70 for a replacement stylus would be worth it if you like the sound overall.

 

[cfoster]

Way back when, I puchased a Stanton 681 EEE and loved it but the love afair soon ended. The stylus wore out rather quickly and due to the high cost and seemingly short life, I never replaced it. Recently, I stumbled on a small package of 680 stylus' which were supposed to work, so I mounted the cart and poped one in. It's not the best but sounds better than the Grado I was using in that TT. Anyway, to make a long story short, I would suspect the stylus but wouldn't spend the money for a new one. Get yourself a Shure M97xE on ebay for under $70, I did, and love it.

Clyde

 

[jrtrent]

My experience with Stanton's sound is the same as Byrdwyngs's. While I'm currently using Stanton 500 bodies, I've enjoyed 3 different versions of the 681, a low impedance 981, the 680EE, etc. The only time I experienced shrill or sibilant sound was when I bought a replacement 681 stylus from a small shop in Spokane. In talking with Stanton about it, the best guess is that I got old stock with a time-hardened rubber bushing. Some stores have been known to buy old stock from another store going out of business, or buy too much at once and have things sitting on their shelves for years. The age and storage conditions of their products can be suspect. A new stylus from a good dealer (i.e., one that buys direct from Stanton and sells enough to bring in fresh product regularly) put my cartridge back to sounding great.

 

[WildWest]

I have a 681 EEE on my Techniques turntable in the back bedroom. Sort of a demo system to see if I want to spin the record under the good stylus in the main listening system. Annnyyyywwwaaay... The Stanton looked good but the stylus under the scope didn't. I got a hold of Garage Records for a replacement stylus. Done some business before over there and they always seem to be in the know about product. Annnyyywwaaay...They told me there was a better replacement stylus from Stanton for this cart than what was OEM replacement. I bought it, put it on and it sounds pretty good actually. Have to admit though, I don't much care for the low output of the Stanton 681EEE. I have to really crank the G9000 to get some db out of it. Annnyyywwaaay...For 70 bones I think this set up would please you and work for a long time if you keep your LPs and stylus clean. The less debri it has to drag through, the less wear and tear you will put on it.

jrtrent said it right...

"A new stylus from a good dealer (i.e., one that buys direct from Stanton and sells enough to bring in fresh product regularly) put my cartridge back to sounding great." Good dealer is the key here. They keep up in the industry and can get you the right product for the job.