cafe latte
Addicted Member
I have original unworn nude, Mexico original ( tracks too heavy) jico shibata, vivid line and black diamond. After the original nude best is black diamond.
Chris
Stanton 681?
- Thread starter Taketheflame
- Start date
Chris
Thanks ... looked for it, what search words do you use to find that particular HE retip stylus on EBAY?
E.Man
Super Member
Do you have a link for these black things mate?
Found your posts about these going back years on vinylengine, and other 681 thread here.
Soundring.au have ee and eee from jico. Seem a bit overpriced? but at least they're in the country.
Oh wait....maybe just in A$ instead of unconverted US$.
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Coolhandjjl
Embiggened Pompatus
Ok, thanks
The black diamond I think will be the next stylus for my 681. There seems to be lots of love that that one.
Stanton / Pickering really got moving iron right. It's become one of my favorite types of cartridges. The only brand that I've found as pleasing is Empire, but not only do you have the same problem finding original styli, but it seems like there's less truly good aftermarket options. Even with Jico, people say that the sound is not quite "there", that it's missing that special "something" when compared to an original stylus (but I've never tried one myself).
Stanton / Pickering really got moving iron right. It's become one of my favorite types of cartridges. The only brand that I've found as pleasing is Empire, but not only do you have the same problem finding original styli, but it seems like there's less truly good aftermarket options. Even with Jico, people say that the sound is not quite "there", that it's missing that special "something" when compared to an original stylus (but I've never tried one myself).
I've been looking a bit and this is one source I found
mrstylus.com
there may be others though and I'd be interesting in hearing other options. I'm also tempted to pick up a Black Diamond Stylus for my Shure M91ED
Let's see, a smooth buttery classic vs brittle on the budget end and way overpriced beyond that. Have you listened to these two cartridges? Is Ortofon like Rockwool where people are getting paid to promote them?
Nailed it. The Blue can be not quite awful on some arms. But still isn't worth the money. The only Ortofon that's worth the price is the Omega.
I run a repair shop and I see and hear a LOT of ancient styli. Here's the crazy thing about Stanton/Pickering OEM styli and for the life of me I don't understand it. They seem to wear much, much slower than other brands. It's rare that I hear one that sounds trashed out at the end of an album side, whereas this is pretty common on MM/MI Shures, ATs, Ortofons, Empires, Grados, etc. They've got some magic mojo in the design.
E.Man
Super Member
Interesting idea. I was set to get a Vividline but this would give me a baseline for comparison.
E.Man
Super Member
MRStylus Black Diamonds are the same as Thakker Nudeline apparently (according to my 'research').
MrStylus site doesn't have a Search function, Thakker.eu can't cope with an International address and neither of them deduct the German VAT of 19% - 20%. Less than ideal!
I'm waiting for @cafe latte to get back to my PM to see if he is selling these within AU.
MrStylus site doesn't have a Search function, Thakker.eu can't cope with an International address and neither of them deduct the German VAT of 19% - 20%. Less than ideal!
I'm waiting for @cafe latte to get back to my PM to see if he is selling these within AU.
TobascoKid
Active Member
It isn’t magic. It’s physics. Yes, the Stanton/Pickering’s will last longer. ADC even more. And even longer are LOMC cartridges. What I don’t understand is why pure clean diamonds sound worse than flawed black ones. I missed that lesson.
Ouch, I stuck a couple in my cart, but didn't order from them yet. Didn't realize that they didn't deduct the VAT... and don't know if it's possible to submit for a refund after a web order
Taketheflame
Super Member
Since we've already had some awesome charts posted here (thanks to folks like ear4audio and saunadog) - does anyone (maybe the aforementioned users?) have a good chart or link to share that shows which cartridge models are equivalents between Stanton and Pickering?
I've read that the VSX3000 is the Pickering equivalent of the Stanton 881, but it would be useful to have a reference chart that shows the matching models between the brands.
Just trying to do my homework here - it seems like much like with turntables, I'm seeing that vintage MM/MI carts seem to offer insane bang for the buck compared to modern carts if you're willing to go the re-tip route/hunt for NOS styli (assuming there isn't a top-notch aftermarket stylus available) - so I'm getting the impression that I'm better off (financially, and maybe even for my ears too) getting some excellent vintage carts re-tipped than blowing big bucks on TOTL modern MM/MI carts.
I've read that the VSX3000 is the Pickering equivalent of the Stanton 881, but it would be useful to have a reference chart that shows the matching models between the brands.
Just trying to do my homework here - it seems like much like with turntables, I'm seeing that vintage MM/MI carts seem to offer insane bang for the buck compared to modern carts if you're willing to go the re-tip route/hunt for NOS styli (assuming there isn't a top-notch aftermarket stylus available) - so I'm getting the impression that I'm better off (financially, and maybe even for my ears too) getting some excellent vintage carts re-tipped than blowing big bucks on TOTL modern MM/MI carts.
Here is some of the information in a grouping for stylus compatibility. It doesn't list which one they are Pickering or Stanton, but does list the model numbers
https://kabusa.com/stantonx.htm
It's missing the P model Pickering that maps to the 881 (XSP/3003? and maybe some others)
Agree - I think these cartridges offer great value even with aftermarket stylus pairings, although I'm still working through those to find out which ones I like best
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I did a comparison based on the inductance and resistance of the coils.
There are no exact matches but some come close based on the inductance/resistance of the coils. Pickering did come out with Stereohedron II styli but several years after the Stanton models.
As far as a match with the 681 and Pickering XV-15, the closes is the XV-15/1200E based on the shape of the stylus (.2 x .7 mil)
cafe latte
Addicted Member
Not convinced they are the same. Tracking forces have been different for the different makes. QC also has been patchy not all are checking the stylus before sending out. That said black diamond are amazing performance.
Chris