Stanton 681EEE

[hjames]

Thanks for ALL the 681EE tips and links from everybody. Last night while sorting through an old box of connectors and cables under my workbench, I found a small sealed plastic box with a carefully packed Stanton 681EEE Cartridge (package said "packed 12/79"!) and another box with a pair of old stylii and pivot brushes.
One of the folks at Vinyl Asylum had a link to partstore.com where I was able to order a (new) spare headshell for my Denon DP-45F for about $20 shipped.
I've also ordered a new stylus from Needle Doctor and when that arrives, I can mount the cartridge up and hopefully, be good to go again!

Sept 21 - new headshell came today - EXACT DUPE of original Denon headshell (even marked "DENON"!)
Got the Stanton cartridge mounted, so now I just need to dig out specs on setting it all up properly - the Denon manual doesn't give specifics.
But I found protractors I can print and use here - http://www.vinylengine.com/manuals_tonearm_protractors.shtml

Did some adjustments, buffed up a record, and had a listen ... Shawn Phillips: Second Contribution - ahhh
thanks to you ALL for your encouragement

 

[aj_chicago]

The only think about it that annoys me is the brush assembly. I like Shure's version with it's damped action, but on the Stanton it's like having an anvil at the end of your tonearm.

Enjoyed reading this thread. I have an older 681EEE that came with a table I came across. I think it compares favorably with the Shure M91ED and M95ED I have. I am thinking mine is old enough to be plain old elliptical and not stereohedron. Haven't put it through the Shure obstacle course, but do like the warm, bassy sound. What MR. hackaplan said about the anvil of a brush made me smile and then think (oh the pain! ). I have a Shure stylus gauge. Should one use such a gauge or would it be better to balance the arm then set the force using the counter weight on a Dual or Pioneer table? My thought is that this brush is not damped like the Shure brush and is just being dragged along, so exactly what effect does it have on the stylus force? It would seem that it may have a little of the opposite effect that the damped brush would have, in that it is "free" dragging and not propping up the cartridge/stylus/arm, whereas the Shure brush is damping and lightening the down force load a little. (It's not removable is it?) What should sf be set at for a 681EEE on a Dual straight arm? On a Japanese s-arm? I believe I have previously just set it to close to 1.5 without really knowing what was Stanton recommended. I'm not a big fan of the Shure brush, either. I leave it out of play for the most part, and know when I've forgotten to lock it up and out of play when at the start of a record the damped brush makes is so slow for the needle to touch down that the beginning of the first track is missed! (especially on records with higher ridges than normal). Hopefully, this is not stealing the thread, but adding to what turned out to be a good Stanton 681EEE thread for future searches..

 

[MikeCh]

If I remember correctly, Stanton recommends upping the tracking weight by 1 full gram if the brush is used. The cart specs for tracking force are .75 to 1.5 grams so if you pick the middle at say 1gram + 1gram for the brush-add, then you'd be setting it up at 2grams tracking force total. This is how I've got mine set on an older Technics SP-15 and the combo is magical to my ears.

 

[ronpod]

I am bringing my Thorens back from retirement, its been in storage for over 15 years. When I bought it back in the 70's I had the audio boutique fit it with the Stanton 681EEE. The audio specialist recommended the match at the time and knew to remove the brush and spent considerable time with the adjustments. That wonderful wooden box had many uses. And the fine small tools were a bonus. I spent many, many happy hours listening to so many lps. So it's good to return this good old friend back to service. But the stylus is likely in need of replacement. Is it correct that the MkIII is a direct replacement for the original stylus? Somewhere I saw a stylus with an S designation. It was nearly twice the price. It may have a different shape in the groove. Is it better sounding if it is carefully adjusted. Is the Needle Doctor the best vendor for this purchase? Any mods or tweaks that you can suggest would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[onepixel]

When I found my rare TOL Pioneer PLC-590 with a rare Infinity Black Widow low mass graphite tonearm, the Stanton 681EEE was mounted on it.

The original owner thought it was good enough, so do I.

 

[70salesguy]

Stanto 681

For what it's worth, BITD when I was on the back side of the counter, the Stanton 681EE was considered to be a very nice unit. :yes:

You had your Shure fans (I am one, V-15II) and you had your Stanton fans.

Never heard or sold a Grado BITD that was comparable.

 

[bangsezmax]

I am bringing my Thorens back from retirement, its been in storage for over 15 years. When I bought it back in the 70's I had the audio boutique fit it with the Stanton 681EEE. The audio specialist recommended the match at the time and knew to remove the brush and spent considerable time with the adjustments. That wonderful wooden box had many uses. And the fine small tools were a bonus. I spent many, many happy hours listening to so many lps. So it's good to return this good old friend back to service. But the stylus is likely in need of replacement. Is it correct that the MkIII is a direct replacement for the original stylus? Somewhere I saw a stylus with an S designation. It was nearly twice the price. It may have a different shape in the groove. Is it better sounding if it is carefully adjusted. Is the Needle Doctor the best vendor for this purchase? Any mods or tweaks that you can suggest would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

For the best stylus around for this cart, go to KAB and get the Pickering D11-S (not that the link is for the cartridge/stylus combo, but the stylus is available separately until he runs out). Not exactly cheap ($80 for the stylus alone, $140 for the combo), but is most likely the best stylus available unless you can track down an NOS EEE-S or EEE Mk2-S. The S is for stereohedron, a stylus shape similar to the Shibata. Reduces record wear and gets excellent detail out of the groove.

 

[bangsezmax]

(It's not removable is it?)

The brush is very easily removed. Take the stylus off the cart. You'll see that the other end of the brush assembly has a T shape that is clipped into the plastic inside the stylus housing. Just push it out to un-clip it, then gently pull the T part through the little hole (that's why that hole is the size it is). Just remember to reduce your VTF by a gram if you had increased it already.

 

[aj_chicago]

The brush is very easily removed. Take the stylus off the cart. You'll see that the other end of the brush assembly has a T shape that is clipped into the plastic inside the stylus housing. Just push it out to un-clip it, then gently pull the T part through the little hole (that's why that hole is the size it is). Just remember to reduce your VTF by a gram if you had increased it already.

Thank you kind sir. I think we'll be removing it. Oh, I will set VTF with my trusty Shure teeter-totter. :thmbsp:

 

[aj_chicago]

If I remember correctly, Stanton recommends upping the tracking weight by 1 full gram if the brush is used. The cart specs for tracking force are .75 to 1.5 grams so if you pick the middle at say 1gram + 1gram for the brush-add, then you'd be setting it up at 2grams tracking force total. This is how I've got mine set on an older Technics SP-15 and the combo is magical to my ears.

I hear ya, and mine sounded great at 1.5 grams of force set by the Dual turntable dial (which is likely off), but having the free floating brush reduce stylus force seems illogical since it is not damped or springy and therefore would seem to NOT reduce the stylus force, but rather, by dragging its weight behind the needle, increase the stylus force somewhat. I picture a pickup truck hooked up to and pulling a train. The first thing that would happen is the back bumper would drop and the rear shocks would be compressed. What you are saying would indicate that the free dragging, heavy-ish brush, somehow tends to lift the needle the same as the Shure damped brush. Maybe by some mechanical miracle it actually does, but that just doesn't seem right and I sure hope someone will tell us definitively. Somebody slap some sense into me if my thinking is wrong. I have been to the Stanton Magnetics home page, and they still recommend (for a MKIII which mine is not) .75 to 1.5g tracking force, but don't say a thing as how best to get it there with the brush deployed or how the brush effects stylus force. Anyone got an old Stanton 681EEE instruction manual? Just found out from a fellow poster in this thread that that brush IS removable, so I think I'll be removing it and setting tracking force with a gauge and actually KNOW what it is. Thanks! :thmbsp: Still would like to understand whether the brush adds or lessens tracking force and how.

 

[LarryYaremko]

I have been to the Stanton Magnetics home page, and they still recommend (for a MKIII which mine is not) .75 to 1.5g tracking force, but don't say a thing as how best to get it there with the brush deployed or how the brush effects stylus force. Anyone got an old Stanton 681EEE instruction manual? Just found out from a fellow poster in this thread that that brush IS removable, so I think I'll be removing it and setting tracking force with a gauge and actually KNOW what it is. Thanks! :thmbsp: Still would like to understand whether the brush adds or lessens tracking force and how.

On my Technics turntables I merely balance arm, then dial in 2.25 grams, which according to Stanton should result in 1.25 grams of stylus pressure with the brush attached.

On my AR Turntable, I just use a stylus gauge and adjust the weight of the arm to 2.25 grams.

I like that brush a lot. It gives a final cleaning to the grooves before the stylus finally touches them. And it always seems to pick up a bit of dust, even on records that were just cleaned, so it must work.

 

[MikeCh]

I'm not at home to look at the documentation that came with the cart, but I know I read somewhere (either here or a Stanton doc) that when using the brush, 1 gram should be added to the tracking weight.

I do know that when I was first setting up my deck, that I was using 1-1.25 grams as the setting and noticed some sibilance in the higher freq's. As well, I also noted that when setting the stylus down into a groove (with the cueing arm) that when set at the lighter 1-1.25 grams, the stylus wouldn't always settle "right in". Once I added the extra .75 grams to get to 2 grams total, I've never had a problem with sibilance (on a good piece of vinyl) nor the non-settling-in issue of the stylus.

On another note, just to make sure I was setup correct, I finally purchased the Shure Obstacle Course LP and ran it thru it's paces. This table/cart setup tracked every stress-test (all levels) without any issues whatsoever.

Mike

 

[absolon]

The 681EEE manual is available for download at the vinylengine.

 

[majick47]

Checked out the KAB listing for the Pickering D11S stylus and noticed it had a brush attached. Can the brush be removed like on the Stanton stylus or is it permanent?

 

[P. Shivers]

For the best stylus around for this cart, go to KAB and get the Pickering D11-S (not that the link is for the cartridge/stylus combo, but the stylus is available separately until he runs out). Not exactly cheap ($80 for the stylus alone, $140 for the combo), but is most likely the best stylus available unless you can track down an NOS EEE-S or EEE Mk2-S. The S is for stereohedron, a stylus shape similar to the Shibata. Reduces record wear and gets excellent detail out of the groove.

Have any experience with this stylus in a 681EEE that you'd care to share? I have a 681EEE-S that I purchased in 1980. The original stylus was replaced several years ago with a cheap non Stanton stylus that sounds bad. I'd like to get it back sounding like the way I remember it, and am curious to hear some user impressions of the Pickering D-11-S in the 681EEE.

 

[majick47]

Stanton 681EEE With Pickering D 11 S Stylus

Goofed on prior post, wanted to ask if the Pickering D 11 S brush can also be removed. The Pickering stylus isn't all that more expensive than the Stanton 681EEE factory stylus, maybe $20.

 

[bangsezmax]

Goofed on prior post, wanted to ask if the Pickering D 11 S brush can also be removed. The Pickering stylus isn't all that more expensive than the Stanton 681EEE factory stylus, maybe $20.

Yep. The metal attachment for the brush just clips into two little dimples on the stylus body. Pops off even easier than on the Stantons.

 

[cableguy]

I am using this cart for the first time, well actually it is a 681EE with a new STNS681EEE stylus form LP Gear....
I will simply echo all of the wonderful sentiments already written in this thread. Good stuff, and a keeper...I think my next purchase will be the Shibata stylus for this...

 

[Jfall]

The 681EEE MK3 is my first cartridge. I agree, very nice. I bought mine while waiting for an Ortofon 2M black to arrive. I'm listening on my vintage DD table and find it to have a lush full sound that's very pleasing to these ears.

 

[day67]

Does the 681EEE MK3 come standard with a shibata or stereohedron stylus? Is that what the "MK 3" means?