Best $500 or less cartridge for an AR-XB Turntable?

I have a question for you please. For the sake of simplicity, let's narrow it down to a typical MM such as Shure or Pickering. The stylus assembly....the cantilever goes inside an outer tube. On the end of the cantilever is a magnet. What makes up the suspension(ignoring tie wires for now) ? Is it something like a simple O ring or foam rubber ?

Thank you,
John

 

Usually it will be rubber or an O ring on most MM. Pickering made both MM and MI cartridges (MI being Moving Iron aka Variable Reluctance) as did their Stanton sister.

 

Thank you for the response and info. I have a stylus EVG/JICO for Stanton 681-EEE. Is that cartridge one of the MI models ? If so, I should try one someday. Last night I watched a YouTube video from the guy who tests a bunch of cartridges. He does not like the Ortofon Quintet Blue at all. I have one.

 

It is Moving Iron. Jico bought from Jico is the best current option. However, the elliptical light tracking option or the D6807 A in a Jico is the best styli available currently for this classic, which happens to be my favorite cartridge of all.

 

Hana EH/EL

 

Stanton was not the sister, but, rather - the Father, as it manufactured all the Pickering carts, and, in essence, was the owner of the brand, which at the time was not widely publicized.

 

What he likes or dislikes is of no importance. It's what YOU like that matters - to you, of course. This happens to be the same guy who disliked the Lounge LCR phono stage, of which the audiophile community can't stop drooling, myself including (I own one). I'd take this guy's opinions with a two-pound bag of salt...

 

I have a few Pickerings in my desk drawer. A v15/AT1 with EVG PM4025DE stylus in it. It sounds okay. I also have a Pickering 480E-2 which I know nothing about and have not tried. Right now I am sacrificing some styli for the VR 1000 to my experiments. I modified one and it is tracking nicely at 1.75 grams on a stack of rock 45's. I'm working with a guy at a stylus manufacturer. We might build some prototypes and test them. The goal is excellent tracking at around 1 gram VTF.

 

In my drawer, I have a Pickering XV-15/625 (NOS), XV-15/1200, and XSV-3000 with and LPGear Vivid Line stylus (original was not to be found). None of them installed yet. I have an original NOS Shure M97HE installed - love it.

 

I wonder who makes the LPGear Vivid Line styli. Any idea ? I could find not a stylus for the XSV-3000 on the JICO site or EVG spreadsheets. I just sold my last N97HE EVG by JICO stylus. There are no more for now. EVG is switching from JICO as a supplier to the same Swiss supplier that Pfanstiehl uses. No guarantee that the Swiss supplier will make anything more fancy than an elliptical.

 

I was going to suggest Pfanstiehl, but I could also suspect AT, they certainly have the manufacturing wherewithal.

 

Now you're talking my language. Keep em as rugged as the originals, and the tracking comparable, the world will beat that path to your door. I love Pickering and Stanton cartridges and they're rugged and great. And the Pickering XV 15/Stanton 680/Stanton 681 family is my preferred. And I do love V 15 and Stanton 500 also.

 

Interesting. Pfanstiehl makes styli for ceramic cartridges here in the States. Their magnetic styli come from a manufacturer in Switzerland. Pfanstiehl sells but does not make any magnetic styli. Audio Technica certainly has the ability. I just have never heard of them as a supplier. I could be wrong. The stylus business is so secretive. I guess because you could count the actual manufacturers on one hand. Pretty soon if it has not started already, EVG's will come from the same factory as Pfanstiehl. It is all about repackaging and then calling it Vivid Line or LPGear or Bliss, etc. The most that you can be sure of these days, for aftermarket styli, is that if you order from JICO, you get a JICO. LOL.

 

Do you think there is a market for an improved stylus for the VR 1000 ? I have sold 29 EVG2751DE's in 2.5 months. That reminds me....I need to get a tested one ready for shipment now.

 

I do have people from the Russian Federation, Belgium, Canada, and the United States as customers for styli for the VR 1000. My domestic customers buy multiple styli per purchase and the customers outside of the United States buy one at at time. Do you have any idea how many VR 1000's are out there ? It does not seem like many. A single VR 1000 comes up for sale on ebay once in awhile. I have seen 'sold' prices from $164 to over $500. I am going to pursue the stylus design change. One change was simple. The next will be involved. LOL. The original design is a conflict. Too much emphasis was put on keeping the cantilever in the relationship to the pole pieces. The stylus needs compliance. The original VR 1000-5 had a 0.5 mil stylus and was supposed to be able to track from 1-3 grams. That required and supposedly had a more compliant cantilever than the heavier tracking 1000-7 (3-7 grams). Yet one aftermarket styli manufacturer's assembly sheet indicates the two tip sizes but no difference in construction or construction materials. I am curious to know the design differences between the 1-3 gram VTF and 3-7 gram VTF versions. If any. One could have just one compliance value for both tips and claim otherwise. I am being too negative. There probably was a difference. I just do not know what it was.

 

I think the Asian and European vintage market would justify trying.

 

A note, the other famous generic stylus supplier happens to be none other than Nagaoka. You know them for their famous cartridge and record care products and also under the Jeweltone name.

 

All told, of all Stanton and Pickering cartridges. I think Jico and Nagaoka in Japan could get the MM Pickering/Stanton line the closest to the original. I think Jico could make HE and SAS for these, and get them spot on like they do Shure and voiced right. Knowing this, makes me want an 881 body in my arsenal or the Pickering equivalent handy. It would not surprise me to see LP Gear styli Nagaoka Japan made if Jico does not make them. Apologies, if I have been hard on you on things. I was with Needlestein, and we're on the same mindset, and I think I can do the same with you and respect you and meet you halfway.

 

I see Asian's selling VR cartridges on ebay. Usually the VR-22's. But they do not seem to buy from us. I have not had an Asian customer so far. I expected to.

 

I often wondered how involved Nagaoka is in the aftermarket styli arena. The Jeweltone name rings a bell.

 

Thank you. I feel the same way. I can be very stubborn. Sometimes, sometimes it is good. As when I want decent styli for the VR 1000.

 

The equivalent of the 881S is the XSV-3000 that I have, that's why I bought it - the Stanton brand carts were just too damn expensive. The Vivid Line stylus for it, which closely approximates the original Shibata of the Stanton/Pickering, is about $80 on LPGear, IIRC. If my memory serves me right, JICO does make a SAS stylus for the Pickering, although I might be wrong. Easy to check on Jico website, they also sell direct.

 

I thought Phanstiehl was the Swiss manufacturer. Shows you how much I know, LOL.

 

JICO is not accepting any orders right now for SAS and SAS is not in the current catalog. They state that they are trying to catch up with orders.

 

At that price I would look at the Audio Technca 750SH for $400. I'm considering one myself.

Audio-Technica VM750SH cartridge