I used to be a Stanton dealer, and I'm very partial to the _old_ Stanton company's products. They considered me to be an expert on their cartridges.
The 881 is a superb cartridge. There's been a lot of confusion about the wares of the "new" Stanton company, relocated to Florida. During the last ten years or so, I have not been able to keep the stylus revisions straight -- needles have been "now-you-see-it; now-you-don't." As with other cartridge makers, certain of the products and replacement styly have been downgraded from a parabolic to an elliptical. This is probably the source of your confusion. In most (?) remaining brands, the common stylus tip for serious listening has become the .3 x .7 mil elliptical. This is actually a very nice size to live with. I prefer a parabolic tip, but I think that these are harder for today's cartridge makers to buy.
The traditional company was very consistent and logical in their product designations, something that I appreciated.
The "S" designation means "Stereohedron:" a first-generation parabolic stylus. Combinations of "S" and "2" mean a second generation parabolic: they're also called "line contact," and various other buzzwords. They're both superb.
As far as I can tell, the current 881 is a parabolic. I'm glad it's being made. I regard it as a true "musician's cartridge."
Richard Steinfeld
The 881 is a superb cartridge. There's been a lot of confusion about the wares of the "new" Stanton company, relocated to Florida. During the last ten years or so, I have not been able to keep the stylus revisions straight -- needles have been "now-you-see-it; now-you-don't." As with other cartridge makers, certain of the products and replacement styly have been downgraded from a parabolic to an elliptical. This is probably the source of your confusion. In most (?) remaining brands, the common stylus tip for serious listening has become the .3 x .7 mil elliptical. This is actually a very nice size to live with. I prefer a parabolic tip, but I think that these are harder for today's cartridge makers to buy.
The traditional company was very consistent and logical in their product designations, something that I appreciated.
The "S" designation means "Stereohedron:" a first-generation parabolic stylus. Combinations of "S" and "2" mean a second generation parabolic: they're also called "line contact," and various other buzzwords. They're both superb.
As far as I can tell, the current 881 is a parabolic. I'm glad it's being made. I regard it as a true "musician's cartridge."
Richard Steinfeld