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Pickering XV 15 Styli

cscottrun4it

cscottrun4it

Active Member
It's time to replace the stylus on my Pickering XV 15. The options, however, are dizzying! Thus, I'm hoping someone can help me out.

I am currently running a 650e, and, of course, eBay has all the usual $15 OEM replacements that I never pay slick of attention to, but beyond those, I've tracked down a bunch of other options.
I know some believe only styli made by the original manufacturer are worthy of consideration, but anything over ~$80 is out of my price range at the moment.

Any thoughts on these choices, our have I missed a good option?
 
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There are two more options

Vickers HiFi in the UK offers the original OEM Pickering D625 stylus for $109 shipped. I bought one for my Stanton 681eee. Pay with Paypal; they take care of the currency conversion. Highly recommended.

It's a bit over your $80 budget but worth it.

http://www.pickeringuk.com/styli.html

Then there is the line contact or Vivid Line stylus from LP Gear. They make one for the Pickering XV15. These Vivid Line stylii are seriously good. I bought a VL stylus for my M91ED. It is insanely good. These are $80 plus $9 shipping.

http://www.lpgear.com/product/PICKSXV151200E.html
 
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Match the stylus to the tone arm and you will get a more pleasing sound.

The D625 has somewhat low compliance and may be more suitable for medium and heavier tone arms. :idea:
 
Balifly said:
Match the stylus to the tone arm and you will get a more pleasing sound.

The D625 has somewhat low compliance and may be more suitable for medium and heavier tone arms. :idea:
Click to expand...

I think you May be thinking of the D625DJ. The D625 is a pretty compliant stylus, quite similar to the D750E and the D1200E.

John
 
cscottrun4it said:
It's time to replace the stylus on my Pickering XV 15. The options, however, are dizzying! Thus, I'm hoping someone can help me out.

I am currently running a 650e, and, of course, eBay has all the usual $15 OEM replacements that I never pay slick of attention to, but beyond those, I've tracked down a bunch of other options.
I know some believe only styli made by the original manufacturer are worthy of consideration, but anything over ~$80 is out of my price range at the moment.

Any thoughts on these choices, our have I missed a good option?
Click to expand...

The JICOs are all the same price because they're all essentially the same stylus. JICO only make a 0.3 x 0.7 mil bonded tip for their ellipticals so the only difference between these three will be the stiffness of the elastomer for the D400. The D750 and D1200 are probably exactly the same.

The TurntableNeedles styli are probably JICOs as are the Non Vivid Line styli offered by LP Gear.

The "SwissMade" styli will be Pfanstiehl and should be avoided.

Ed Saunders, the company, should be avoided entirely. Ed is no longer connected to the business and the woman running it is incompetent, rude and dishonest.

Don't know a thing bout EMJ Music.

John
 
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boreas said:
The "SwissMade" styli will be Pfanstiehl and should be avoided.

John
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Interesting. I have a Pfanstiehl4825DEZ (.02x.07) from Voice of Music. At first I liked the detail with this stylus. Then sibilance reared its ugly head. I've never been able to tame it with this stylus. It became too much and now I seldom play this stylus.
 
Unless you can find the superior originals, look for Jico conical or elliptical options. With the Jicos do bear in mind they require more tracking force than a real Pickering stylus does.
 
I echo what John had to say about Ed Saunders. Not at all the source it was when Ed was actually involved. I've dealt with the woman to whom John is referring and she is precisely what John describes in my experience.
 
My recommendation is go with the original D625 from Vickers HiFi in the UK. Or go with the Vivid Line from LP Gear.

I have the OEM D625 on my Stanton 681eee. It is excellent. The brush works well too. The brush on the original is superior to those on after market stylus brushes.

I have the LP Gear Vivid Line on my Shure M91ED. It is superb. SUPERB!

That is my experience.
 
Wow, guys - what a truck load of help! Thank you, all.

Based on the postings, I'm inclined to go with the LP Gear Vivid Line. However, the original Pickering stylus is very tempting (I always get talked into the more expensive of any two options.)

Jim, what thinkest thou of the differences? I'm running a Thorens 150 MKII with the original TP13a "kugel" tonearm. I use a Denon PMA 2000r as the amp (no seperate phono preamp) and then out to a pair of B&W DM 220s.

I know a lot of variables contribute to a system's sound, but I'm curious about opinions if these two styli were the choices.

Again, thanks for all the knowledge!
 
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boreas said:
Don't know a thing bout EMJ Music
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I've bought a few Jico VN35HE styli from them for my modified SC35C. They're the usual Jico quality. Just much slower postage.

needlestein said:
The LPGear ViVidline, if it's like the one I've got for my MM Pickering/Stanton is actually exceptional. I don't have a ViVidline for the XV15 though, so I don't know directly. If $80 is your budget and you want to just buy something to give you confidence, this is probably the one.
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Yes, I went with the Jico you recommended for my XV15 625E and it sounds fantastic. I'm running LPGear Vividline styli on my XSV3000 and Stanton 785LZE..... Actually I find the LPGear XLZ-7500S Mk2 stylus you suggested to be significantly better than the NOS stylus the 785LZE came with..... I'm no longer certain as to what my top cart is because of this. I've a 3 way tie (FR-1 Mk3, 785LZE & Grado Reference Platinum 1 w/ micro ridge tip) :s

cscottrun4it said:
Based on the postings, I'm inclined to go with the LP Gear Vivid Line. However, the original Pickering stylus is very tempting (I always get talked into the more expensive of any two options.)

Jim, what thinkest thou of the differences? I'm running a Thorens 150 MKII with the original TP13a "kugel" tonearm. I use a Denon PMA 2000r as the amp (no seperate phono preamp) and then out to a pair of B&W DM 220s.
Click to expand...

I think you'll be happy no matter which way you go. I've been very impressed with the Jico and LPGear styli so far though the only Pickering/Stanton cart I have with original stylus to compare is my 785LZE. The LPGear stylus beats the original silly ;)

Pickering/Stanton carts are a wonderful combination with vintage B&W speakers. Sound great with my DM16's :)
 
:dunno::dunno:
cscottrun4it said:
Wow, guys - what a truck load of help! Thank you, all.



Jim, what thinkest thou of the differences? I'm running a Thorens 150 MKII with the original TP13a "kugel" tonearm. I use a Denon PMA 2000r as the amp (no seperate phono preamp) and then out to a pair of B&W DM 220s.

I know a lot of variables contribute to a system's sound, but I'm curious about opinions if these two styli were the choices.

Again, thanks for all the knowledge!
Click to expand...

Flip a coin, they are both excellent. LP Gear is selling the VIvid Line for the Pickering at the old prices. That won't last. Those VLs will be going up.

OTOH, the original Pickering D625 from Vickers have to be in limited quantities. Once they"re gone, they are gone.

If I had to choose, I'd lean towards the VL. But then again...:dunno:
 
needlestein said:
ViVidline is cheaper and has a line contact tip which means that it could last three to five times longer (or even longer) than a .3 x .7 elliptical. So, all around it promises better performance, greater longevity and a lower price. Seems like a no-brainer. But the original D625 is a fantastic original stylus, no doubt.
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At current prices, the LP Gear Pickering VL is $80 + $9 shipping. The OEM Pickering at Vickers is $109 shipped (subject to currency adjustment) only a $20 diff.

If LP Gear raises the Pickering VL price to the same level as the AT95e VL, that would make it $134 + $9 shipping.

I also think I would go for the VL before the price goes up.
 
I've got a VL on the way for my XV-15/1200E to supplement a NOS D1200 stylus as well as a 4606-DEX from VOM. I use a VL on my modified Shure M35x and have also used it on a M97xE with great results (to my ears), I am a convert so I hope this sounds sweet in my XV-15 as well.
 
needlestein said:
This surprises me just because I would have expected the Stanton nude .2 x .7 elliptical to be very good to excellent. But the LPGear stylus is tough to beat (at least the D7500). Some people don't think the LPGear styli are worth a darn or that they sound bright and not "Stanton-like." But the one I have, the only one I have, sounds amazing compared to original. The only thing it doesn't do is track as light. But it still tracks very light. I have some aftermarket styli that also sound as good as original and track light, but these are NOS of long out of business aftermarket brand.



It's a shame that these cartridges never really took off in the market place.
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Yes, it's the XLZ-7500S Mk2 I'm running in the Stanton 785LZE. It may be that the suspension in the original stylus has become stiff with age. I didn't exactly give it much time to loosen up as I wanted to see which stylus was better. The XLZ-7500S Mk2 is far more detailed and refined sounding though I suppose further use could loosen the suspension on the old stylus.... It could just be personal preference too. I'm wondering if I should get another stylus from LPGear as a backup?
 
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