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

Which is good, so much business means they're here to stay. As long as the stylus is in their catalog - one can be obtained somewhere...

 

You are not the only one. Pfanstiehl has been buying from whoever that Swiss manufacturer is for 35 years. Pfanstiehl still does make styli for ceramic cartridges here in the States. Pfanstiehl is a division of LKG Industries. EVG is a distributor....repackager only. A division of Russell Industries. I could get higher prices for my EVG's that were made in Japan. I don't know what is going to happen when EVG starts selling Swiss styli. With both companies requesting the same styli from one manufacturer, the manufacturer will probably cut some models to increase production on the more popular models. That is what I predict. But I have been wrong before. Often.

 

It's not simply a price consideration. People want cartridges from a certain era, with a certain sound. For the money my 35-year-old Denon DP-60L deck has cost me with all the service and upgrades by now, I could have easily bough the new Technics 1200 GR. Would the new 1200 be a better deck - quite possibly. Would I be as happy from simply buying this new deck, as opposed to scoring a mint Denon and lovingly bringing it up to my spec? - I doubt it...

New stuff, even of better spec/quality is not always a good substitute to the vintage. It lacks the same level of emotion.

 

Yes and the retailers really mark them up:
Super Analogue Stylus replacement for Shure VN5xMR stylus

 

They have to eat, too. The mark-up here is about $50-$60 from the price Jico charges direct. If you're in the market, and can't find it anywhere else - I doubt a $50 difference is gonna stop you.

 

I have some of both vintage and newer. My speakers are AR 6's(the original design with an inductor on the woofer and their original AR 6 woofer which had the magnets around the voice coil instead of behind the voice coil. This allowed it to go as low in the bass as their 10" models. The other pair are AR 3a's. Electronics are newer and new. NAD C162 preamp and NAD 272 power amp and Marantz PM5005 integrated amp. Turntables are upgraded Rega, AR 77-XB, and Garrard Lab 80's. Cartridges are GE VR 1000's and an Ortofon Quintet Blue. I have a Marantz 2220B but it needs repair again. I preferred the sound of the old Marantz over the 'modern' sound of the new Marantz.

 

Ah ha...I wrote it down before the SAS's disappeared from JICO's website. JICO $196, LPGear $290. I often take a loss on the styli that I sell. I sell EVG's. Most sellers on ebay sell Pfanstiehl. I pay more wholesale for EVG and have to sell for Pfanstiehl prices. I need to discover the secret of 'eating too'.

 

How old a Marantz are we talking about? It was originally a US company, started by a guy from Queens named Sol Marantz. He sold the company, I think, around 1966. Now it's in Japanese hands (again), and is Marantz only in name.

 

Dunno, last time I checked Jico while they were still selling direct, they had two SAS, or even 3 SAS options. The regular went for $211, the sapphire cantilever - for about $230 - 240, and ruby cantilever for close to $300, so I balked at the time.

 

It's an expensive hobby - selling at a loss, LOL.

 

The 2220B is from the Sony SuperScope era. Marantz makes most of their equipment in China now. Their premium line is made in Japan still.

 

I believe you. We may have seen different versions of their catalog because of more than one website name or you may have seen the styli before they pulled them from the catalog and I did not see those models. One thing is certain...they still sell direct. I bought a stylus from them in December.

 

I make money on the EVG's for the VR 1000's. Hardly anyone else has any. The real money is in the cheapest styli. Sellers can double the price. When ebay takes their 10% cut, Ebay does not get much. But, I am into selling styli for 'audiophile' cartridges. No plastic needles for Crosley's. I do it mostly for fun and knowing that I am supplying audiophiles with a decent product. I follow up on my sales for older styli to make sure the customer is happy. One guy bought an old EV stylus. I never heard from him. So I messaged him. He said the stylus was no good. I asked him why he did not contact me and he said he just chalked it up to another bad ebay experience. I have had those bad experiences myself. So I returned his money and he ordered 3 newer styli from me.

 

There are still some OEM styli out there for Shure, Pickering, Stanton, etc. Search ebay like this 'pfanstiehl shure' or 'pfanstiehl pickering', etc. Package will state 'manufactured by Shure', etc.

 

Well, the one stylus manufacturer that I was communicating with is no interested in producing any styli for the GE VR 1000. I emailed JICO and Tonar. I know that Tonar is a distributor and not a manufacturer but Tonar had contacted me earlier to see if I was interested in a final run of 100 styli for the VR 1000 with sapphire tips. I declined. They could be retipped cheaply here in the States by the manufacturer here in the States. But, the Tonars that I tested for the GE VR 1000 were awful. My comments about the Tonars apply ONLY to that model. Tonar sources their styli from the few manufacturers that still exist so I am sure that the quality of their currently produced styli are as good as anyone else's. I do not want a 'run' of styli for the VR 1000 that are of the original design. That design was for high tracking forces. I want a simple design change that I have come up with that allows the stylus to track at around one gram. It is do-able, I just need to find a manufacturer willing to do it. My current supply of EVG styli for the VR 1000 is getting low. The reject rate is about 200% ! Most skip or are terribly distorted. Add in bent pole pieces and styli that do not clear the stylus shield. I bought 108 EVG styli for the VR1000 in November. I started selling them in December and I only have 32 remaining. I have a box of Walco's but it seems no one wants those. Which is strange because some of the EVG's are obviously Walco's and Pfanstiehl's. There are others that I cannot identify who made them.

 

Bought one Pfanstiehl Shure stylus for a friends RXT5 today. Seems to be a direct replacement for N111E, .0002 x .0007 tip, made in Switzerland, $20. Let's see what it sounds like.

 

I hope it is good because EVG's will be coming from Switzerland instead of Japan.

 

I have also contacted Grado since they are one of two stylus manufacturers remaining here in the States. I would love to have some company put the VR 1000 back into production with my new stylus design. I have tried to contact GE to determine if the patent is still in effect to no avail. Of course, they do not respond to a nobody like me. LOL.
McLover, What is the tracking force to aim for ? 1, 1.25 or 1.5 grams ? I cannot test below 1.5 grams as the Lab 80 tonearm has too much mass with the heavy VR 1000, cartridge mounting hardware, and the nickel on the counterweight to be even able to float the tonearm. At 1 gram, there is actual bouncing. LOL. If the VR 1000 was ever copied, it could be produced with today's stronger, lighter magnets. And even those could be much smaller as 10mv outputs are hardly required these days.