The Stanton "Collector's Series 100" cartridge

[hifitommy]

and while the tas review was lackluster, i always rely on my own ears as the final arbiter. please refresh my memory of who that reviewer was because i really dont want to trudge through all my old tas issues to find it.

what really stood out was the review of the 881s/atML170, both of which i have obtained as well at the ML150 stylus. they mentioned that doug sax was enamored of the 881. i have to agree on both items.

they use stantons in broadcast and from what i hear from KXLU (a few years ago) the bass was quite denon 103-like. as you probably know, that is a true compliment.

the XLM and sonus carts were also among my faves. my friend went to the sonus blue when pritchard left adc and they were VERY linear. i also found the micro acoustics 2002e to be that linear and another great cartridge.

my previously mentioned friend also had an xsv3000 that he was quite fond of but he preferred the sonus.

the shures always seemed to lack "something" and its hard to put my finger on what that is. the v15III never pleased me although i have read that the jico replacement stylus makes it sound great. thats an area i will leave to others unless something falls in my lap.

i appreciate the insider info from you emaidel. i have been close in with some of the good guys a few times and its loads of fun.

[pmgrnvl]

OK, I know I'm a bit off topic, but since there's been so much good discussion here, I wanted to update re: the XSV-3000.

It arrived, and looked as described: mint, NOS. I was going to put it into the Luxman, but while I was waiting for an alignment disc to arrive, I was able to purchase a used Linn Sondek LP-12 in very good condition from a Linn dealer.

So, I decided to wait. The Linn arrived, and it appears to be in great shape. I mounted everything and aligned the cartridge. The arm is the Akito. The markings for stylus pressure on the counterweight seemed to be a crapshoot, so I got hold of a Shure stylus gauge and set the cartridge up for a bit over 1.25g -- right in the middle of the recommended tracking force (yes, I took the brush into account and added a gram).

I then used a test disc to fine-tune anti-skate, and found it was optimum at about the 1.5 setting. On the Hi-Fi News test disc, it tracks the first two of the four bias tracks flawlessly. The third is almost flawlessly, and the fourth tracks as well, though there is some edginess. I was quite impressed.

What I have now is a used LP-12 in great shape, an Akito arm (which is somewhat of a pain in real use), and a NOS 30-year old XSV-3000...

So how does it sound? In a word, amazing. Honestly, I expected an improvement; I had high hopes for the cartridge (based on previous experience, though I wondered if it would be competitive today) and the Linn is supposed to be great.

But I must say that the imaging, depth and bass performance has been astounding. The absolute silence is a shock, too. Everything seems quieter, more open and more lifelike. And this through a system optimized (sadly) for video, not audio: M&K speakers, Marantz receiver (using a Proton 1100 for phono preamp duty).

So far, I've played a handful of discs -- Dire Straits, Steely Dan, etc. -- and been amazed.

An audiophile friend with a Michell turntable and Lyra cartridge is coming by this weekend, and I am curious to see what he thinks.

Am I crazy or in the honeymoon stage? Comments and thoughts, please...

Pete

[pmgrnvl]

For emaidel -- I have really enjoyed reading your comments, insights and stories about the great Stanton/Pickering company.

I do wonder, however, as great as the XSV-3000 was, how do you think it compares with some of the better carts today -- the higher-end Ortofon MMs, for example (2M series) or with some of the MCs. Is it still competitive, in your opinion?

And, too, do you think my match of this to the Linn is satisfactory, or problematic?

Thank you,

Pete

[emaidel]

The XSV/3000 was, and still is, a very, very good cartridge, though I can't say how it stands up to some of today's newer models. I suspect it may fare quite well, but that newer models from the likes of Ortofon probably sound better. The Stanton 881-S was dereived from the XSV/3000, and the Collector's Series 100 from the 881-S.

I gave my son-in-law a NOS XSV/3000 I had lying around for about 30 years. He took his turntable (my old Dual 721) to a local shop and asked the owner if he would install the Pickering cartridge, but the owner sneered at it, and said that the Grado my son-in-law was using was better. Fortunately, my son-in-law wound up installing the XSV/3000 himself and was astounded at how much better it sounded.

Insofar as the TAS review on the Stanton Collectors Series 100, there's a long, long story involved there, and one that I think I've posted here years ago. In short, the reviewer (whose name I've forgotten) hated it with a passion, but also hated the 881-S, and had long been angered by the fact that TAS had the "temerity" to print a favorable review on the 881-S. I suspect he used his reveiw of the Collectors Series 100 as an outlet for his long-held dislike of Stanton cartridges. Doug Sax was permitted a line or two in the review, and he very much liked the Collectors Series, but his comments were overshadowed by those of the primary reviewer.

Just an interesting note: the TAS reviews always list as their source "Manufacturer's Loan." Don't believe it: over the years, NONE of the Pickering of Stanton samples (including additional samples for Harry Pearson who always was claimed to have been "excited about" those models being reviewed) were returned.