Stanton

[poppachubby]

Hey all you analog heads. I have purchased a used 680el cart, no stylus, mounted to a Technics headshell for a whopping 15 CDN. Of course, he is a DJ and goes through these like socks. I plan on ordering the stylus, just wondering what anyone has to say about the Stanton sound. What can I expect?

I will use it intermittently on the SL-Q2 with my Orto 2M. Thanks, Chubbs

[emaidel]

The 680-EL was a best-selling DJ cartridge for many, many years. It stemmed from being used for FM broadcasts, and as it withstood vigorous back-cueing, it logically followed as being a decent DJ cartridge. It doesn't sound much like any of the "Hi-Fi" cartridges the company made, but is most similar to the 681-EEE, rather than the much better 881-S.

New styli are still available, but for musical purposes (I assume you're not a DJ), there are better choices.

[poppachubby]

So Emaidel, at this point, you think it's not even worth it to buy a stylus?

[Jim Eck]

How much are you going to have to pay for a stylus? Is you current tonearm equipped with a removeable headshell? If so you could set this up as a backup or to be used on lesser lps or questionable lps that you don't want to harm your primary stylus.

I have picked up some lps before that I haven't yet found a really good quality one but would like to listen to but don't want to subject my good catridge a stylus to.

Just a thought.

Jim

[poppachubby]

How much are you going to have to pay for a stylus? Is you current tonearm equipped with a removeable headshell? If so you could set this up as a backup or to be used on lesser lps or questionable lps that you don't want to harm your primary stylus.

I have picked up some lps before that I haven't yet found a really good quality one but would like to listen to but don't want to subject my good catridge a stylus to.

Just a thought.

Jim

Ya, great idea, more or less what I had in mind. It's a nice stylus, diamond elliptical, no reason to give it second class status. If an LP is of poor quality, it doesn't hit my table. If I had something that needed to be spun but was that shabby, I would convert it or buy another copy.

But anyhow, no need to slice hairs huh Jimbo? Point is, it could make a decent second cart. The stylus varies in cost, but I've seen them as low as 40 bucks. The problem is that most online sellers are out of stock. Greedy DJ's will buy up large quantities, not sure what to do at this point.

I'll keep looking, thanks for the advice Jim. Man, where did you come from anyhow? Everytime you appear in a thread it's to give me good advice. Still, 02audionoob is my online-audio-guardian-angel sent from Audio Jesus in Audio Heaven.

Thanks man...

[JoeE SP9]

I think you'll like the Ortofon better. Having a spare or two in the cartridge department is always a good thing.

[emaidel]

So Emaidel, at this point, you think it's not even worth it to buy a stylus?

You guessed it. "Factory-original" styli are readily available for the 680-EL, as are knockoffs, which I'd strongly advise against. If you decide to buy a stylus for this cartridge, be sure it's an original. One way to tell is to look at the metal tube/shaft leading out of the plastic stylus "handle:" the originals are a dull metal, with an obvious crimp in the metal, which occurs from the crimping tool necessary to hold the assembly in place as a tie-wire (a Stanton exclsuive, and a patented design) is affixed to the cantilever. Knockoffs don't have a tie wire, and the metal tube/shaft is typically shiny, without any crimps.

[poppachubby]

You guessed it. "Factory-original" styli are readily available for the 680-EL, as are knockoffs, which I'd strongly advise against. If you decide to buy a stylus for this cartridge, be sure it's an original. One way to tell is to look at the metal tube/shaft leading out of the plastic stylus "handle:" the originals are a dull metal, with an obvious crimp in the metal, which occurs from the crimping tool necessary to hold the assembly in place as a tie-wire (a Stanton exclsuive, and a patented design) is affixed to the cantilever. Knockoffs don't have a tie wire, and the metal tube/shaft is typically shiny, without any crimps.

Thanks Emaidel, I won't buy from any seller that looks shady. Needle Doctor and TurntableNeedles.com are the 2 spots I frequent for analog. I'm pretty sure I want to get it just to try at this point.

HiFiTommy recommended a fantastic Sumiko headshell. I plan to refit my arms with these eventually.