kcblair
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Thanks for the offer, that was just exploratory surgery . I don't have any more stylus to play with.
EDIT: I did not find that tie back wire, though.
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Pickering XV-15 cartridge fans and users, spout for a while!
- Thread starter illinoisteve
- Start date
EDIT: I did not find that tie back wire, though.
I wish I could get it cheaper as well. But old styli used is not an option for me. I have to be as certain as possible that it's new or I don't want it. Too much risk.
Please explain.
IMO, and I've seen LOTS of old styli, the main "risk" of a diamond stylus that has been worn from use is subpar sonics. On bonded styli, the diamond is more prone to popping off of an older one, of course. But you know it when that happens.
I am, of course, a heretic since I don't buy hook, line, and sinker, the entreaties from the stylus manufacturers' marketing departments that tell you that you MUST change your stylus or you'll RUIN YOUR RECORDS!!!
Believe it or not, if you track records properly, it's kinda difficult to ruin them, even with a worn stylus.
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The risk for me is a possibility of hurting my records, as well as buying something that will suck. I've tried aftermarket Pickering/Stanton styli several times and they have been terrible. Have also bought "hardly used" styli on the auction site and elsewhere and had issues. So it's worth it to me to buy the real deal from a reputable dealer. Simple as that.
just curious if someone has compiled a list of stylus that fit the Stanton 681/ Pickering xv15 & what their specs. are? i have an old 681 w/ a Pickering d140 that i found in my tool box & i would like to replace the stylus but I'm having a hard time keeping track of all the variants that seem to be out there and i haven't found a list of all the options that will fit. my cart just says 681 no letters. if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it.
Fair enough.
My rule of thumb is that if a stylus is mistracking to the point that you can hear it, then there's the possibility that you can damage your records.
Of course if a listener is paying attention, they won't be able to stand listening to mistracking because it'll sound awful, so there should be little need to worry about damaged records. Unfortunately, not every listener is paying attention.
About 95% of the time, assuming proper alignment, azimuth, and VTF, mistracking is related to the suspension. And those can be tweaked for better performance, as needlestein has demonstrated.
boreas
"If it sounds good, it IS good." E.K.E.
Just to be clear, are you speaking of new versus used or new versus NOS? I ask because the D625E that Vickers/Pickering UK sell is unused but not new. It's old stock from when Pickering was still in business and making styli.
John
illinoisteve
Super Member
Earlier in the thread there's a link to a webpage showing Stanton-Pickering stylus cross-compatibility. One of the rows shows that any needle that fits and works on a Stanton 680, Stanton 681, or Pickering XV-15 will work on any one of these three cartridges. But it only lists the original stylus name/numbers, no generics. It also says nothing about the specs of any of the stylii. As for the letter or number suffixes--when they are there on the cartridge or on a label stuck on it, or on the box it came in--they just indicate what stylus was packaged with the cartridge at the factory and sold with it. A Pickering XV-15/400 came with the D400 elliptical stylus, for example. A Stanton 681-EEE cartridge if you found one labeled that way, came with the 681EEE stylus. Some people say that cartridges that came with higher level stylii originally were tested closer to specifications at the factory. If I put a Stanton 681EEE stylus on my Pickering XV-15/400 cartridge, I might not get as good of a result as if I put it on a Stanton or Pickering cart that originally came with a higher level stylus. But I will get a better result than with another D400. Some people say that after 40 years, the differences between how carts tested compared to spec at the factory might be a wash. If the cart is still in good working order, you can move between Stanton and Pickering or up and down in the stylus pecking order, as fits your needs for stylus characteristics or for budget.
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dbxdx5
Super Member
Good point. Yes, I would consider NOS too.
boreas
"If it sounds good, it IS good." E.K.E.
Actually, the 681EEE came with a D6800EEE stylus.
It's not a question of what some people say. Stanton did indeed put their higher end styli in the bodies that tested best. These were "Calibration Standard" and were what the 681 was all about, whether it be a 681EE or 681EEE. These cartridges were serialized with a registration number hand engraved on the body and an individual test data sheet shipped with each one. The cartridges that tested lower but well within acceptable standards were the 680 cartridges.
There was no "Calibration Standard" equivalent for the XV-15 and no indication that the gold bodies were any better than the white or the gray or the blue bodies.
John
illinoisteve
Super Member
boreas, thanks for amending my answer for more precision. I wasn't the best person to answer ludite's question fully, but somebody better wasn't answering it. There do seem to be people that think goldbody XV-15s are better, even if they have no evidence. But, since my XV-15 is white, I really don't worry about it.
boreas
"If it sounds good, it IS good." E.K.E.
I think people believe that because Stanton and Pickering were the same company and it seems logical that Pickering would have a similar method of
deciding where their better styli belonged. And they may be right but you'd think that Pickering would have promoted that distinction, just as Stanton did.
Another thing about folks deciding that the passage of time has made any distinction between Calibration Standard bodies and the rest is moot. Some of the measurements that Stanton used to rate the bodies weren't the sort that many of us are equipped to make. They weren't just looking at DC resistance or inductance. They looked at output voltage, channel separation and frequency response too. Before people decide "they're all pretty much the same now" people would need to take those measurements too.
John
boreas
"If it sounds good, it IS good." E.K.E.
Nominal is 1300 ohms so it's a bit off, on the order of 18%. It shouldn't really be a problem though since, even though it's a bit off, the two channels are VERY even, more even than usual.
John
dbxdx5
Super Member
Ok, thanks John. I'm trying to decide whether it's worth putting the money into a stylus for this.
boreas
"If it sounds good, it IS good." E.K.E.
That's something only you can decide, of course, but those resistance readings wouldn't scare me off.
John