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I've studied the replacement styli proposed by the various on-line retailers and understand that only A-T substitutes for the obsolete Signet stylus are available. I'd prefer some sort of variant of the Shibata tip shape.
Does anyone know for sure if the "AT440 Microline" replacement stylus below fits the Signet? It claims it fits the A-T 140LC, which some blogs claim fits the Signet, but the chain of credibility is weak.
At this price should we also assume it's a crappy diamond, badly polished and improperly oriented, and I'll be heartbroken? An actual A-T replacement for the 440MLb is around $150.
Follow Ups:
Ultimately the Signet will go in a vintage STAX UA-7cf unipivot arm, a design that was tailored for the newfangled MC cartridges in the 70's. I feel a medium- to low-compliance MM is right. The arm will sit on a massive older JVC QL7 DD table. My primary goals are lively dynamics without overly bright highs.
You are the knowledgeable A-T guys!
I've never owned any A-T or Signet cartridges in decades of phonography, oddly. Perhaps the "Micro-line" will match my tastes, it has been frequently favorably mentioned in the AT 440 variants. I will learn to like "mauve" color.
Mr.B.: No worries, you can use AT120/102P family needles on the bodies of the a-suffixed Signet-TKs no problemo.
And BHPV's low price for the ATN440MLb would seem likely to be a kind of sale-out price, because AT's current line of AT120 family models (officially AT100 family, but I rather call it the AT120 family, as there used to be an AT100E before (one of the numerous renames of the AT10 to AT12 family) and also as the AT105/110E/115E don't belong to that family...) is going to be replaced by the new VM5x0/6x0/7x0 models pretty soon.
According to an AT dealer I spoke with 3 days ago, over here AT is already out of AT440MLbs, while they've still got AT100Es and even a few AT150MLXes. And the regular AT120Eb is sold-out as well, but they've still got the variant with headshell (AT120Eb/HSB).
Anyway, what table/arm would you intend to use the Signet on? Because if it's a very light to light arm, going for an ATN140LC/142LP might be a better idea, provided Stereoneedles can actually still offer these. Whereas in case of a light to medium-heavy arm, the ATN440MLb would indeed be the technically superior option - and if I was located in the US, I'd surely also be tempted to get a couple of exemplars from BHPV... Well, if I'd like that odd violet/purple/pink/whatever colour a little better and wouldn't be still stocked up on ATN152LPs, ATN150Es and AT132EPs, that is... ;)
The latter would also be a nice option for people with limited budget and very light to light arms, btw, provided Stereoneedles still offers it for not quite 70 bucks. The ATN130E/132EP features a neat, rectangular-shanked diamond with sharp, true elliptical tip on tapered, anodised alu cantilever combination - to my ears a very nice sounding needle version, but of course it will not last as long as the line-contact needle versions and also not perform as well with somewhat worn records.
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
The link you provided says it is a genuine AT stylus so I don't know that these units at B&H will be any different to any other online retailer.... Looks like a healthy discount!
In fact...I'm going to get a few myself!
According to Manfred, the Signet Ea models should be able to work with the AT440MLb (as in physically fit). The inductance of the bodies are identical and although the coil resistance is fractionally lower on the Signet, this would be of no consequence. Signets aren't available where I live, but Manfred knows his stuff and I would trust his information.
If you truly desire a Shibata then get an ATN150Sa stylus which is a Shibata for the new AT150Sa....However, you will pay far more than the USD89 you are looking at!
Personally speaking, the cost premium for the 150Sa for what is otherwise (technically) an inferior tip design would make it an extravagance, but if you truly desire a Shibata then that is probably your only option (with a genuine AT badge) to match your body. The MicroLine will outlast the Shibata very significantly (if you treat it well with clean grooves).
Regards Anthony
"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
Thanks for the flowers. And just btw, one can also swap mounting frames/brackets or generators in that family, btw - on the halfinch-mount side, that is... I.e., the mounting frames/brackets are screw-fixed to the generators, with the screw being hidden below the model plate on top. So in practice one can for example also combine the low inductance generator version of the AT150MLX with the very compact mounting bracket of the Signet MR5.0 family to create a light body with as uncovered as possible generator shell, which could hence be used with any of the closer and wider AT120/102P family needle variants.
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
You're welcome! I often come across your posts on different forums and you and Neobop have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the sort of things I'm interested in as well!
Incidentally, in your reply to MrBear, you mentioned the new AT cartridges....
Do you have any info on these? I can't find any reference to them!
I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas!
Regards Anthony
"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
Anthony: Sure - you can find these on the Japanese AT web-site (see link!).
But to make it short, there are four new stereo models with the regular plastic mounting frame (which are obviously intended to replace the AT-5V (-> VM510CB), the AT100E (-> VM520EB), the AT120Eb (-> VM530EN) and the AT440MLb (-> VM540ML)), two new mono models (VM610MONO & VM670SP - both also with the plastic mounting frame, the latter with fat needle for shellac), and three stereo models with the heavier alu mounting frame. Of the latter the VM740ML will come with the same MicroLine needle version as the VM540ML and funnily enough will be the cheapest oh the top models, while the VM750SH will replace the AT150Sa, and the most expensive will be the new VM760SLC with a moderately sharp Vital-like line-contact tip - so that the ranking of the top models seems somewhat counterintuitive...
The stereo generator version has been changed slightly to now 460 mH and 800 Ohm/2.7 kOhm. More puzzling: The recommended tracking forces have all been increased to roundabout 2 g, while the compliance specs would rather appear pretty unchanged compared to the corresponding predecessors...
Greetings from Munich, and I hope you also had a good Christmas time!
Manfred / lini
Thanks for the link!
Very interesting to see the design changes (and colour changes too!) - it looks like they were listening and removed the Lavender colour from the line up.... ;)
I have noticed a shift in the nominal VTF required - I had several ATN150MLX styli which I bought some time ago which I intended to pair with an AT100E which I had as a cheap alternative to the heavy 150MLX body. Those matched the original MLX specs for frequency response and nominal VTF at about 1.2 to 1.3g. I subsequently had to scratch my itch to get the proper 150MLX cartridge about 18 months ago... and found that the nominal had shifted up to 1.5g and the frequency response range had changed! At this time, the 150MLX stylus was recommended as a replacement for the 150ANV which had a higher VTF range and it appears that the new specs match the 150ANV.
There seems a general trend to moving up the VTF scale. To be honest, the new spec'd cartridges match my 12g arm (Technics) rather better than my original 440ML which resonated at about <7Hz.
I also note that all the new cartridges have a VTA of 23deg now.
I don't know how tight the tolerances are, but I think the shift in inductance will be of little consequence and the new styli should work quite happily in the 440 body.
I think the higher cost of the Shibata model may be marketing (given that Ortofon also pitch the Shibata at the top of their range of 2M and Quintet series) but I wonder if the time required for alignment is adding to the cost since the SRA is defined in the cut and extra care is required in the mounting to ensure correct alignment? I don't see how a ML would be any easier....
Regards Anthony
"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
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