Replacement stylus suggestions

Numistrek09

Numistrek09

Super Member
Ok, finally getting around to putting new styli on two of my carts and i was looking for suggestions on which to get.

First up, a Pickering XV-15
I know i could get a good original from here: http://www.turntableneedles.com/XV-15-625E-Pickering-D625-Needle-606-DEL_p_720.html

But i'd like to know what other cheaper options are out there. I was looking at this: http://www.lpgear.com/product/PICSD0625.html

But i don't know how good LPGear's generic replacement is. They also have a D750 for a few dollars more. Anyone have experience with these, or other replacements on the market?

Next is a Shure M104E (under the re-branded # of RSP3). Should i just replace with a N104E stylus: http://stylus.export-japan.com/product_info.php?products_id=1004.

Or spring for the more expensive N110HE: http://stylus.export-japan.com/prod...=1005&osCsid=384a6f37f2135351a519bb8e9a20cf6d

And are there any better deals on either of those parts as well? What was your experience with your choices?
 
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the really cheap generics are just not good. The LPGear VividLine is pretty decent sounding though. The OEM ones are about the best, though I have never tried a Jico SAS to compare against the OEM.
 
The Canadian Astatic replacements for the XV15 are a decent deal at $27C. The best one that's still available last time I checked (in May) is the N859-ed, the equivalent of the D750. They also had the N856-ed, the equivalent of a D400.

Here's their website, though the easiest way to do this is to call Holly at 905-836-6078.
 
If your really looking for something cheap just to get going, the guy at thevoiceofmusic.com seems to have generics for just about anything. I always order from there when I just want to replace a stylus on a new (to me) table and get her running. Then I suppose I could order the real deal (which he also often has), but I'm usually happy with generics on my thrift records.

It's true they're not going to be as good as the OEM/NOS or even the upgrades, like this "shibata" that I hear people talking about, but for tip top performance you'll need to drop some coin.
 
For top performance i know i'd need to spring for the real things. But i was interested in knowing if anyone here had tried the generics and what they thought of them. Decent enough, or a waste of time.
 
For the Shures, the EVG sourced generics are more than acceptable. Many of us use them on M75, M91 and M95 cartridges. One source is here but there are at least three on the auction site.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TURNTABLE-S...rd_Player_Turntable_Parts&hash=item2ebeeb37bb

For the Stanton/Pickerings the generics are not good at all IMO. Another alternative to the link you provided to LPGear is a genuine Pickering stylus from Voice of Music for the same price. Though the 607-DEM was designed for the Stanton 600/Pickering Phase IV series of cartridges, which were the moving iron predecessors to the 68X/XV-15, they work and sound just fine in the XV-15 carts. None of the irritating top end siblance you get with Stanton/Pickering generics. You can also get the genuine Stanton D6800EE from StereoNeedles.com for $59.

http://www.stereoneedles.com/Stanton.html

http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/cata...=MfgNameNeedles&MfgName=Pickering&Categories=
 
I bought a generic .7 mil conical for the Pickering on my Garrard changer just to get it running. It was $10.49 shipped from needledaddy1 on Ebay. He also has .3 x .7 ellipticals for $17 too. Maybe I got lucky or maybe I'm just not that picky, but it sounds pretty good to me especially for the money.
 
I tried both the Pfanstiehl and the EVG ellipticals from Mark/Needledaddy1, and to me they both sounded pretty harsh and had to be tracked at close to 2 grams without the brushs to get them to track in an acceptable fashion. Like I said, just my opinion and I tried them on three different tables.
 
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