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Which needle for sony xl-45 cart, NOS or Jico sas?

 

Hello,

I happen to have a sony xl-45 cartridge w/o needle.

It is said to be vere good. Is it really so?

Well, now I need a needle.

And there two options

Either I can get a NOS vintage sony nd-45E (elliptical) for smth 230 or so usd

Or I can buy a brand new JICO sas for some 280 usd, i suppose .

What would be a better choice ?

Besides there a jico sas with boron cantilever and with a ruby one (a bit more expensive, about 350 usd)
Does it (cantilever) make a big diffrence and is ruby cantilever  is worth extra money ?

 

Thank you

serge8

Showing 2 responses by dover

dover
2,187 posts
 

There is one significant advantage the SAS has - it's new. No time for the rubber to deteriorate.

The original Sony composite aluminium/carbon fibre cantilever is a key ingredient in achieving that neutrality. With the SAS the sapphire cantilever would be much closer in sound to the original than the Boron.

With regards to the stylus shape - the SAS is probably better than the original.

On the Sony XL55mkII Sony moved to using a micro ridge profile.

dover
2,187 posts
 

Apparently this stylus is pretty rare!

Apparently so, but not as rare as a NOS stylus collapsing after a short time due to deterioration after 20-30 years storage.

Still, you could buy it and mount it on the wall as a piece of art.

 

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