Stylus cart opinions

[jsarsfield]

I just picked up a Pioneer PL-112D and it came with a AT4412XE dual magnet cart and orange stylus ... Should i get a new cart or just replace the stylus the existing stylus looks to be in hardly used condition and sounds really good

Here's the specs

Freq. resp. 10-30,000 Hz
Output 4.2 Mv
Chan. Sep. 25/20
Chan. Balance 1.0 dB
Stylus tip size 0.2 X 0.7 mil nude eliptical
VTF 3/4 - 1 3/4 grams
cart weight 5.8 grams

Thanks in advance

 

[hakaplan]

I'm curious as to where you got those specs. My sources say it's a .3 x .7 elliptical. It's a clone of the AT12XE. It was a good cartridge--nothing wrong with getting a new stylus. You can also upgrade to an ATN12S Shibata (line contact) stylus.

 

[jsarsfield]

I'm curious as to where you got those specs. My sources say it's a .3 x .7 elliptical. It's a clone of the AT12XE. It was a good cartridge--nothing wrong with getting a new stylus. You can also upgrade to an ATN12S Shibata (line contact) stylus.

your right I thought that it was the orange one but it's actually the caramel stylus .... There are two Shibata's listed on my specs sheet one is burgundy ATN14 Nude Shibata and the other is the ivory ATN12S bonded shibata what is the better stylus? BTW the burgundy says it has a freq. resp. of 5-45,000 Hz that sounds like a pretty decent spec do you think it would be too bright ?

 

[hakaplan]

Well, a nude stylus is always preferable to a bonded. Nude is mechanically attached as well as bonded. I'm just not sure if the ATN14 fits the 12 body. ATs are usually on the bright side, but what you see in the specs is not the cause of that. They were that high to enable the stylus to carry the CD-4 quadraphonic signal back in the days of quad. If you like the sound as it is, I'm sure you'll like the 12S Shibata.

 

[ETI_5000]

BTW the burgundy says it has a freq. resp. of 5-45,000 Hz that sounds like a pretty decent spec do you think it would be too bright ?

Given that most humans (babies, anyway!) can't hear above 20 kHz, it's academic. We generally lose about 2kHz off the top end of our hearing per decade, so you should be able to work out what your upper limit is, if you have good hearing. To not sound bright, a cartridge needs a flat response out past our upper hearing limit. If they have a pronounced peak in their response below our upper hearing limit, like some cheap MM cartridges, then they will sound bright, as well as accentuating record surface noise. If a cartridge has a response to 45kHz, then chances are you can't hear the upper 30kHz or more of its response, so it won't necessarily sound bright.

-Don