ATN160ml Beryllium MicroLine Stylus on AT150e body

noromance

you mean the original Enja issue? It would be fun to compare. As I mentioned, my Inner City re-issue is thin, flimsy, sounds surprisingly good. Identical front and back cover.

dover

You are right of course, I'm not parting with it.

IF anyone is ever tempted to try Beryllium, I can tell you, my memory is correct, it is definitely superior, and you get the added benefit of light tracking.

No microscope photo, you just have to risk it,  this seller used parts (unisound card was in the box), and Samauri Seller both have 30 day returns, 

I am asking/searching for information regarding any performance differences between the 150e body and the 160ml body. Then, armed with facts, I will ask seller for a partial refund due to the fact it is not what he or I thought it was.

of nine at160ml's listed on hifishark, 8 are in a headshell, so no confirmation it is a true 160 body. The one loose 160ml without a headshell has a stylus and cost more than I paid.

I do not see any discussions about using an AT160ml stylus in a 155 or 150 body, yet it fits properly like any AT Stylus I ever messed with 

I have an AT14sa, also tracks at 1.25g, Shibata on tapered aluminum. I got one for a friend also, my memory a bit hazy, yesterday I had to remove mine from the headshell to see it's label on it's covered up top for confirmation, it is a poor location choice for product id.

I expected more comments, oh well,

I have listened more, now to more bass content, and other even more familiar full range and vocal content, and I am happy to say that I got lucky, I love everything I have used it for, and thrilled I am back to 1.25 g tracking.

I use my NOS AT440ml Microline on Aluminum up here in my office for 1.25 tracking. It was essentially unused because I preferred the Shure V15Vxmr beryllium I broke for two reasons: it’s beryllium cantilever and it’s 1.0g tracking, and the option to lower the damped brush for warped lps was more important with prior TT in prior location.

Next I will compare the beryllium to the saphire to the boron to the aluminum, but I’m gonna ask a friend to join me for that.

I’m gonna write the seller, ask for a partial refund, see what happens, it’s not important, but it also is not what was described.

Cost was $265. Sounds awesome, but not what seller or I thought, so I figured I’d ask for a 1/3 refund,

Seller gave me the $90. refund I asked for plus less tax.

sold as used_parts1, but ’unisound’ card was in the box, I see that for many listings from Japan.

this Luxman PD-444 is listed, with the identical photo by at least 7 different sellers, just search PD-444, and scroll down, easy to recognize the photo.

PD-444 Search on eBay

same Luxman Two Arm TT PD-444 listed by many sellers

In this case, many different people are selling the same item, that is the opposite of what you are thinking.

I think Unisound is huge, they clean it up, take photos, and let others try and sell it on a commision basis.

westcoastaudiophile

Thanks for sharing your knowledge about these wonderful cartridges. You didn't mention but obviously know about their wonderful sound, and I assume also value the light tracking, this AT150e body/ATN160ml beryllium/microline stylus combo happily tracks at only 1.25g.

I joined the forum, got a lot of help here, and began changing things just before Covid in late 2019, ended up completely revising 3 systems: Main (back to tubes); Office; Garage/Shop. Then, after creating my 3 arm TT, and finding a great Sony SACD Player xa-5400ES recommended here, I restored 2 pairs of AR-2ax speakers. Had 2,500 then Inherited over 4,000 lps, mostly Jazz played once or twice, much great Mono content prior to Stereo LP's in 1958. Gave away/sold over 2,000 LPs, more need to go.

Lately I have been assembling a small collection of alternate cartridges.  

My 'long in memory' reference favorite is the Shure V15Vxmr, MicroRidge on Beryllium Cantilever that tracked at only 1.0g. I used it (until I broke the beryllium cantilever) in my SME 3009 II Arm (which I renewed with help from SME) on my Thorens TD124 TT (which I renewed with help from Thorens).

All correspondence by mail in those days. I'll never forget the reply letter from SME: expecting a price quote, SME simply trusted me to pay, and shipped me the parts with an invoice here to the USA. Made me feel like a trusted gentleman.

so maybe I'll keep my eye out for a true 160 body, with or without a stylus.

a few random finds to share

Fm ronco on audiogon

On a tangental note, I have fallen in love with Beryllium cantilever stylii.  ........ I'm listening to "LA 4  Scores!" as I type.  Might as well be in the club with them:-)

Cantilever Info from Orbray, formerly Adamant Namiki (2023, long after beryllium was discontinued)

https://orbray.com/en/product/jewel/product/cantilever.html

Dr Tominari of Dynavector Systems Interview

https://www.dynavector.com/pdf/hifiplus_issue8_40-48_dynavector.pdf

lewm

It's obvious, and happiness is contagious.

Boron Rod is at the top of the chart.

I have a few aluminum, straight and tapered, several boron rod cantilevers (my preference buying current production).

one vintage sapphire tube (Sumiko Talisman S), which I ASSUME might be above Boron Rod, as Sapphire Rod is just slightly below Boron Rod.

and this MM AT160ml was to get back to the lightest/stiffest: beryllium which I long remember from the V15Vxmr OEM stylus I loved/broke many years ago. I was still raising 2 boys at home in those years, not listening live much.

This AT160ml’s difference/preference is readily apparent on every/anything I play which surprised me, as the subtle difference between the boron rod and sapphire tube require concentration. And we expect MC to beat MM but "what you read in the bible ain’t necessarily so".

ronco’s "Might as well be in the club with them" says it best. It’s not just the best bass I ever heard (my primary remembrance), it’s the best ’every note’ I now realize. In addition to single concerts by name artists, twice a week for around 25 years, Age 45-70, I listened to live music, mostly Blues and Jazz in small clubs. It’s like that, even when I go to the kitchen for something, it sounds like I’m in a side room of a club, about to walk back in.

Of course, the source must have been done right to capture/create the ’involvement’, my word for what makes the difference, i.e. I find tubes more involving than SS..

........................................................

Boron:

my first MC choice after advice here was AT33PTG/II MicroLinear on Boron Rod.

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-eu/at33ptg-ii

Wore it out, got new one 1/2 price AT’s trade-in policy

Using Jico SAS tip on Boron in my Shure MM V15Vxmr body, with optional non-damped brush up

bought broken AT33PTG/II Mono, Yahoo Auction, had Steve at VAS put his advanced stylus tip he calls ’P’ on Boron Rod to have Mono Cartridge with advanced tip on it.

bought broken Shure MX97e, with OEM damped brush, had Steve at VAS put his advanced stylus tip he calls ’P’ on Boron Rod to have Stereo Cartridge with advanced tip and damped brush on it. It fits both MX97e and V15Vxmr bodies.

..............................................

I’m gonna stay on the prowl, when I remember, for some other vintage survivors.

It was quite interesting to read that Sapphire and Ruby are essentially the same, just color difference when it comes to light/stiff.

rauliruegas

lewm

You two and others have been here a long time, I am always impressed by your knowledge when I peruse past threads.

and I miss chakster

I cut and paste this and that, however I forget quite a bit these days, even re-discovering things I wrote just a few months ago.

Are there any links to fundamental sources or articles you can share with us,

thanks, Elliott

yes, your joke of the week

I just re-discovered from Shure's info, the Shure Cantilever I broke so easily (it shattered after a drop of about 1", I'm still mad)

not a rod, not a tube, it was a MicrowallBe, only .0005" thick

"Trackability is the stylus' ability to stay in contact with the record groove walls at a given tracking force. The most demanding signals on a record are usually high-level, high-frequency sounds and sharp transients. Mistracking of any signal can cause record groove damage that permanently reduces future reproduction accuracy.

Trackability can be improved by increasing stylus tracking force at the expense of record and stylus tip wear.

The V15 achieves high trackability without making these sacrifices.

The V15VxMR's Micro-Ridge stylus tip and low ENGLISH effective-mass MICROWALL/Be stylus structure almost double previously achieved high frequency trackability at 10 kHz - at an optimum stylus force of only one gram!

Beryllium MICROWALL/Be Stylus Cantilever for Lowest Effective Mass Ever! Beryllium has extremely low mass and high stiffness. These properties result in superior performance, however, only when the material is geometrically optimized. The ultra-thin (0.0005-inch) beryllium MICROWALL/Be tube, shown in Figure 1c, has the lowest effective mass and highest ratio of stiffness to mass of any stylus cantilever ever, resulting in unprecedented high-frequency trackability.

Below is the Stiffness to Mass ratio for the three different types of beryllium cantilevers shown in Figure 1 (inside back cover). The physical characteristics of beryllium allow a longer length low-mass stylus structure. The resultant longer cantilever achieves the proper vertical tracking angle for a better match to the recorded signal and lower distortion"

Proper, meaning what Shure chose, 15 degrees, which is why they are named V15

Want a light tracker: Get these two parts: $480. plus tax

V15Vxmr body, broken stylus $265. usd

New Jico SAS on Boron $215.

I have this pair, member above tracks his at 1.0g, Jico gives range 1.0 to 1.5g. I track at 1.25 as the cantilever is boron, not the original that tracked at 1.0g that was Microwall Beryllium Tube.

or, track a used OEM at 1.0g

Used V15VxMR with OEM Beryllium Stylus $495.