tzh21y, think there are modern moving magnet/moving Iron cartridges that are better. Not sure about the Ortofon M2 Black. The Clearaudio Charisma and Maestro V2 are probably better but very expensive. Soundsmith, Grado, Goldring and Audio Technica also make excellent cartridges and some of them are very competitively priced. The least expensive thing to do is get a replacement stylus for your Pickering. LP Gear has them. If you like the sound this may be the way to go. No guarantee but other people like the service.
Showing 5 responses by mijostyn
Maybe more like sideways tzh. @chakster , I would not call them fake, they are real just not made by Pickering. I would not bet on the performance or durability but they seem to review well and are $129 which is relatively inexpensive compared to buying a new cartridge. I do not see any NOS stock online for the XSV 5000. I owned several Pickerings and Stantons in the past and preferred them to Shures and Empires. But there are modern dual magnet and moving iron designs that are just as good if not better. Now that I think of it the Goldring 1042 sounds most like the Pickering XSV 5000 if my memory serves me correctly. It is a $600 with a Gyger S stylus, the same one used on the $16,000 Goldfinger. |
Thanx rauliruegas, I did not know about the LVB 250 2M Black. Looks like a real winner. I agree with both lewm and rauliruegas. It would appear that the only thing wrong with LP Gear's replacement styli is that they are not the originals and may even surpass the original using a better stylus and modern production methods. The Stereohedron stylus was nothing but a "hyperelliptical" stylus. It had a much smaller contact area than the modern Shibata not to mention the GygerS, Replicant 100 and Soundsmith's OCL. These are all superior to anything they made in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Lewm, I do believe Clearaudio designs and manufactures it's own cartridges. You can see the reason their stuff is so expensive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJRnwIaCC2U The Charisma certainly has a very similar design to some of AT's cartridges using dual magnets at 90 degree angles. You can also see the German mentality. Compare this with Soundsmith's factory tour. I do not have any romantic notions about yesterday's cartridges. Technology marches on. Styli, cantilevers, magnets have all improved as have manufacturing techniques. On observation alone I can tell that modern styli are cut more cleanly and lack the discoloration you would see in earlier cartridges. Both Soundsmith and Clearaudio cartridges have significantly better construction quality. Beautifully clean styli mounted perfectly on cantilevers that are dead on. Much more accurate than Shure, Empire, Pickering or Stanton could manage. |
@chakster , hyperelliptical means that the short radius is shorter than a normal ellipse. In reality elliptical styli are not true ellipses. They are conical styli that have had two opposite sides ground down and the short axis polished on both sides. A hyperelliptical stylus just has more ground off creating a narrower contact point. Point being there is nothing special about the Stereohedron stylus. Now, I used very nonspecific terms like, "appear" and "may" Because I do not have these cartridges now and have never used an LP Gear product. I can not say what the real truth behind all this is. But, I have had several Pickering and Stanton products in the past and have always viewed my styli under magnification. I can say for an absolute fact that styli from Clearaudio, Soundsmith, Grado, Koetsu, Ortofon and Lyra are all much cleaner and better cut and mounted than the styli in those older cartridges. I remember returning two top of the line Pickerings because of cantilevers headed in the wrong direction. It would not be hard for a modern manufacturer to make better stylus replacements for these vintage cartridges. Using modern profiles is an added benefit. @rauliruegas , Musical Surroundings the Clearaudio importer in the US says all their cartridges are designed and built in house. The factory tour does show them building cartridges. So, unless somebody can give me solid information to the contrary I have to assume they do make and design their own cartridges. |
@dover , I agree fully on the Hana's and the AT. My approach now to cartridges is different. When I have a bunch of them I always wind up listening to the one I like best and the others languish. I sold the lot and only keep one extra as a back up. I'd rather not have a lot of money sitting in cartridges I do not use. Now I patiently wait for a cartridge I am pretty sure will make an improvement buy that and sell the back up. I used the extra money to buy a new turntable:-) |