damian

My copy will be worn out before the week is over. Can't stop playing it. FANTASTIC.

Yeah, like you said I've had mixed luck with the aftermarket replacements. Over the years I've found a few of very high quality for different carts and a couple of them even worked better than the originals. But overall, they tend to go from "meh" to really bad quality. I didn't worry that much when most of my records were current-issue LP's - worst case, I could go out and buy another one. But with 50+ years old expensive/irreplaceable originals I'm not risking it...

Hey John. I'm not far from you (Granada). I don't know the 605's but I am familiar with other Stanton models and here's a warning: the styli for the different lines are not interchangeable. Even if you could get them to fit by trimming down the plastic (something I have done with Shures and other brands), the cartridge bodies themselves do not operate on the same principle. The 500 series is MM (the magnet is in the stylus itself), but the 680 and 681 series are "moving iron" (also known as Variable Reluctance) and have no magnets in the stylus, therefore a 500 stylus in a 680/681 body would produce no sound (or very low and distorted sound). Strangely enough the 890 series is MM again, so theoretically you could get a stylus for the 500 to work in an 890 (not sure why you'd want to, though) and the other way around. Just thought I'd throw that out there in case you decided to experiment. I have just looked the model up and it looks like a 680 series cartridge (they are taller and less "stubby" than the 500 series). I have a 680 or two and used to really like them, and they're very gentle on records. I believe that the D6800AL stylus should work in those, it's a spherical tip and runs well just above 2.5 grams. Just make sure you get the original Stanton part as the knock-off ones are never as good. ATB, Damian

Never got around to trying the Whitelabels myself and it makes no sense to get one now, but I'd still love to hear one. I've actually got a bunch of carts - Ortofons as well, but they track too high at 3.5~4 grams, and I like the slightly warmer sound of the Shures and Stantons better.

Only my own (limited) experience Martin. I bought one around a year ago and gave it a try, simply swapped it in and readjusted VTF (2.7g, the sweet spot for both Stanton 500's and Shure M44-7s in my opinion), and the sound just wasn't there. The high end was duller. But most importantly, the record I tried it on (fortunately a cheap one), a vinyl pressing, was degraded after just one pass - when I played it on my other deck after that there was noticeable distortion on the peaks that wasn't there before. This was on a properly set up SME 3009 tonearm (the Kyowa test I mean) so I am pretty sure that the arm was not a factor. You are certainly free to repeat the test yourself, they're cheap enough to try. I'll be interested in your opinion if you do; maybe I just got a bad one. But my advice is to try them on cheaper records at first . ATB, Damian

Cheers Dave. I thought they were still manufacturing *something* for the 500 line? At some point it looked as if they had basically settled on a "one size fits all" stylus, I believe it might be the N500? Looked/looks like the original 500 stylus but in flat black. (Thank you to everyone who responded.)

I hope it's OK to bring this thread back from the dead, I found it by chance looking for something else and I have to say that this has been a major head-scratcher for me since day one. I have quite a few collector buddies (all genres) and I've pretty much given up - I have seen people playing OG '50s and '60s pressings of rare stuff on an unrestored 1950's portable, that sort of thing (don't even get me started on the current Crosley trend). My current setup at home is one of three Technics decks (a basic SL-D3, a 1200 I found for 25€ and had to completely tear apart and rebuild, and a higher-end SL-1710) and a Dual 1015. I love tinkering around with gear and precisely because of this, I go for the bargains that need work. I use a Shure M44-7 (or G) on the Technics and a Stanton 400 on the Dual. All of the turntables are set up using a Shure gauge and aligned to 7" null points, and I keep a chunk of Magic Eraser handy to keep styli clean. The records themselves are cleaned on a Knosti machine, which does a great job to my ears. Tonearm bearings have been (carefully) adjusted where necessary. The decks are plugged into a basic Stanton mixer (another fixer upper) and that in turn into a basic NAD amp from the '80s that is about as unfussy as it gets and sounds great to my ears. Speakers are DIY although nothing fancy, just an experiment I never bothered to replace really (2-way bookshelf BR boxes on stands, with 4.25" woofers - they sound much bigger). I haven't spent a fortune on this setup but it does what I need and, most importantly, does not damage records which is my #1 concern.

Hello all, I would like to get a spare needle or two for my Stanton 500 cart since the one I have is getting long in the tooth. I am having trouble finding them locally and even the UK sites I have bought from in the past seem to either not stock them any longer or have them at stupid prices. Also, does anyone know what the current replacement looks like/is called? First they started making those ugly white "Marshmallow Man" shaped ones and then it looks like they went back to the old square design, but in black? I know about the really cheap "Kyowa" replacements but those are shit, I want the original manufacturer bit (if they're still making them). Cheers, D

Hello all, Looking for a clean copy of this (VG+ up), would prefer Vows but open to either. Please DM price and condition if you've got one. Thank you, D

PM'd you about Companions, at least I think I have.

Hello all, Looking for a clean (VG+ up) Symbol copy, if you've got one please PM with price and condition. [M- or very clean LOMA copy could also work if you can provide a soundclip - I'm tired of buying NM styrene records that turn out to play like shit.] Thank you D

Hello all and Happy New Year. I'm looking for a clean copy of this if anyone's got one - please DM price & condition. Thank you! D

Robert Taylor please, PM you in a bit.

Trying again with this one... VG+ or above preferred, don't mind a few clicks & pops but no worn out copies please. Fine with either light blue or green label. Please drop me a message with condition and price if you've got one to sell - thank you very much. Damian

Hello everybody, I have this to sell, would grade it an all-around VG+ (even though it was graded higher when I bought it, but I feel VG+ is a fairer grade for condition), used but not abused, some surface scuffs, no deep scratches, no skips, no cracks - please see photos. Hear the actual record for sale here: https://picosong.com/w285B/ https://picosong.com/w285T Would like £130 for this one. I am located in Spain, so Registered postage to UK/EU will be £9 / 10€. Payment via Paypal (F/F). Open to 1:1 or partial trades as well - drop me a PM with what you've got. Also happy to provide Ebay/Discogs ID's so you can check my feedback if needed. Thank you for reading - Damian