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Opinions/Info on Stanton 681EEE

arts said:
Just to provide some additional data:

I had sent JICO an email inquiry quite a long time ago,specifically regarding some stylus models available for the Stanton 681; the D6800E,D6800EE & D6800EEE.
Well,I actually received a very late but apologetic reply:

According to JICO,all three models track at the same weight,which is 0.75 gram to 1.50 gram. The ''E'' and ''EE'' are identical,while the ''EEE'' has a slightly higher compliance.
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Have you tried the Jico Pickering 1200 stylus on the Stanton 681 body? Just curious. I would like to hear your thoughts.
 
needlestein said:
AND, the 4822-DEE has such a high clearance between the bottom of the stylus grip and the record surface, it will track moguls without hopping around. I have a couple records with edge ripples that are unplayable by any other cartridge, period, even Stanton or Pickering cartridges with original Stanton styli.
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To my mind, this is one of the best features of this stylus. And why it makes a lot of sense to have it in one's arsenal. Oh yeah, and it's cheap and sounds pretty darn good too!
 
needlestein said:
The Pfanstiehl 4822-DEE only really stumbles on hot overmodulated grooves, which a lot of cartridges/styli do, incidentally. I often run mine right at 1.5g at the upper limit with the brush and antiskate set to 2.5g, which is what your controls will look like if you balance the arm without the brush. If you balance the arm with the brush on, your VTF scale will read 2.5g and so will your AS dial, but you will know you are tracking effectively at somewhere around 1.5g. So, well within prescribed tracking force of the original 822-DEE aka D6800EE, which the Pfanstiehl truly emulates.

And, at least with a little twist of the VTF dial for the records that you know are hot, the 4822-DEE will reward you with no sibilance. Not all cartridges do that, either. AND, the 4822-DEE has such a high clearance between the bottom of the stylus grip and the record surface, it will track moguls without hopping around. I have a couple records with edge ripples that are unplayable by any other cartridge, period, even Stanton or Pickering cartridges with original Stanton styli. I really need to capture this on video and YouTube it. The one and only other stylus I have that does this well is a D81 that was retipped by Expert Stylus with an overly long sapphire cantilever. Pickering styli are too wide, as are most cartridges in general, to be able to handle the edge ripples without being knocked. The unique narrowness of the 680/681 etc. styli contribute to its heralded tracking prowess. Add a long cantilever with a lot of clearance like the Pfanstiehl, and there are records that can be played that otherwise would be useless.
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Thanks for the info . I am running the 4822-DEE at 2 to 2.4 grams without the brush. I tried it without the brush at 1.5 grams, and at 1.75 grams, and I did not like is nearly as much as at 2 grams. At lower VTFs the mids and highs can get smeary and effect definition.

The use of the brush can be confusing and my AR arm is not like the Technics arm. I have an @marcmorin AR XB, which has Marc's excellent arm pivot mods and no anti skate adjustment. The AR arm does not zero float balance and it does not have an VTF dial w/ scale. I would like to track at 1.5 grams rather than 2+ grams and I think you are saying you can do this with the brush.

Tonight I will install the Stanton OEM brush, adjust the counterweight to set the VTF to 2.5 by putting only the stylus tip on the scale, not the brush. When playing a record the effect of the brush down on the record will yield 1.5 grams of VTF. Does this sound correct?

thanks, Bob
 
bobins08 said:
Have you tried the Jico Pickering 1200 stylus on the Stanton 681 body? Just curious. I would like to hear your thoughts.
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Yes,I did try both,just to verify that they were ''ok''.Tracking force and alignment was checked/adjusted for each,and set at 1.25 gram.I am using my 681EEE body,as this one is already mounted,although I'm sure my XV-15 body is identical. I couldn't detect any immediately noticeable differences between them,but it was only a quick ''listen to the same track twice'' kind of thing. I'll do a more in-depth evaluation when time permits.The 4606DEX I purchased from VOM is an excellent pin,but the JICO D1200 really is a step up.I don't use the brushes.

needlestein said:
Bloody fantastic, that's what it is!

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....ico-pickering-xv-15-d1200-f-g-awesome.771530/
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Yes indeed,and it was that post that relieved me of more of my ''disposable income'' with this latest purchase.Oh,and the 4606DEX from VOM recommendation (as an inexpensive manner to take the new-to-me XV-15 for a test drive) that got me hooked on this cart was yours as well.Dammit man,you're almost as expensive as my ex!!

But I gotta say Needles,all of your recommendations have been spot on,and I am really enjoying these cartridges.You are a great resource!
Thanks mate!:beerchug:
 
Ok @needlestein I put the 681/4822-DEE combo on. Listening to good demo music, Steely Dan Guacho. Started at 2 grams no brush and sounding good. Upped the vtf to 2.4 and about the same, maybe slightly clearer high end on the female vocal chorus to Babylon Sister.

Next I put the OEM brush on, set the stylus tip vtf to 2.5, careful not to put brush in scale. Played the same song, selected un-mute so volume is not a factor. I think it’s tracking better. I like the firmer bass and I definitely hear improvements in the female backing vocal. One guitar on right and another on left are easy to pick out and separate. Notes are ringing and fading and I track them while new notes come (reminiscent of my Grado Signature 8MX and Nagaoka MP 200).

I am liking the OEM brush and feeling a bit better that the tracking force is reduced. Can’t belive this is a $29 stylus. The highest highs can be better, but the overall presentation is just sweet and big and beautiful.

By the way, prior to this demo I had the Denon DL 110 on for the past week or so. The Stanton 681/488-DEE combo absolutely kills it.

Playing James Taylor now, it sounds like they are in the room. Leland Sklar, JT and the rest.
 
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My mailbox received a 4822 DEE-P replacement for my original stylus. Using it at 1.25g without the brush it sounds pretty good and tracks well, but doesn’t sound as good as the original. The soundstage is smaller and the bass seems a bit bloated. I’ll give it time and hope for improvement. The stock stylus looks good under a 60x lupe but They don’t last forever.
 
Blackdog61 said:
My mailbox received a 4822 DEE-P replacement for my original stylus. Using it at 1.25g without the brush it sounds pretty good and tracks well, but doesn’t sound as good as the original. The soundstage is smaller and the bass seems a bit bloated. I’ll give it time and hope for improvement. The stock stylus looks good under a 60x lupe but They don’t last forever.
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Try increasing the tracking force to 2 grams.
 
Done. A few minutes into John Abercrombie’s Characters and the electric mandolin caused some mistracking. Much better now. Really, what I’m hearing compared to the original is a fatter but less detailed sound. The original has a lighter, more delicate quality, as should be expected. I think the replacement is hotter.
Still, I’m going to run this for several days and compare. I love the 681 and hope to be able to use it for a long time.
 
Thanks Tom. Holding the replacement up to the light with my right hand and the original with my left showed the difference. The DEE looks like a big rock compared to the original. That has to affect performance and sound.
Regarding arms, I am using it on an Audioquest which has an effective mass of around 15g and seems to work pretty well with every MM or MI I have used. Maybe not always ideal, but it gets the job done.
I certainly don’t mind the DEE but it isn’t special.
 
tnsilver said:
Yes it is much better and it really isn't comparable with the 4822 DEE replacement, but short of an expensive smart profile Jico stylus, it's the best aftermarket replacements one can get for the stans. I had a lot of them 4822 DEE's on my 681eee and more on the 881S. The amazing part is they work on MI and MM alike which is remarkable on it's own but they are not even near the original stereohedron styli in SQ. They also differ one from the other and are kind of a jack-in-the-box when you buy them. The 4822 DEE are VTF hogs. I get best performance at 2.2g VTF (no brush) and they never skip, even at 1.5g. It sounds like you could use a better cart alignment.

I'm afraid, with that much VTF, this aftermarket stylus changes not only the original sound but also the original characteristics of the 681eee (and likewise, the 881S). Those were very compliant cartridges, designed for very low eff. mass tonearms. It took me a long while and much trial and error to figure out that with the 4822 DEE, my SME 3009 doesn't shine as it used to. In fact, the old Thorens TP-16 with it's 16.5g of eff. mass had a sudden resurrection when it out-performed the SME with both 681eee and 881S.
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New 4822dee track at less than 1.2g no problem and sound great, the older stock was known to track heavy. I have 6 new ones and they all track at 1.2g no brush no problem. Negative is they are higher output so moving mass will be more, but sonically not bad at all, new stock at least. 're them working with mi and mm not hard as mm work on a mi but not the other way round.
Chris
 
I increased the VTF to 2.2 but haven’t adjusted the antiskate using a blank record. I’m warming up to this stylus, finding the low end to be among the best I’ve heard. Drums and bass are tight, detailed and deep. The mids and highs are natural, airy and clean. I’m not hearing anything wrong.
I didn’t hear any mistracking at 2g so I wonder if this stylus benefits from having the arm lowered compared to the original.
 
cafe latte said:
New 4822dee track at less than 1.2g no problem and sound great, the older stock was known to track heavy. I have 6 new ones and they all track at 1.2g no brush no problem. Negative is they are higher output so moving mass will be more, but sonically not bad at all, new stock at least. 're them working with mi and mm not hard as mm work on a mi but not the other way round.
Chris
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Agreed. Mine tracks great at 1.35 grams.
 
Hi!
Where can I, if possible, find this stylus in Europe? All vendors I find seems to be in the US which means hefty shipping and import fees.
 
I am not aware of any European dealers that sell this model. Thakker.eu sells a number of Swiss needles, but not this model.
 
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