Vinyl Asylum

What to do with an Audio Technica cartridge AT14Sa?

24.139.24.56

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Thread: Display Email Next ] [ Vinyl Asylum ]

lpspinner

(A)

This cart came on a table I bought (Technics DD) with a burgundy stylus (Shibata, I think). I have deduced that it will take an ATS13 stylus if the Shibata isn'available. Garage a Records has one for $45. Other sources are more expensive. Am I right about the stylus? What choices do I have? The AT numbers (ATS/ATS, etc.) can be confusing. Is this a good cartridge and worthy of revival or should I spend my money on a good stylus for my Shure V15III? Thanks.

Follow Ups:

Re: What to do with an Audio Technica cartridge AT14Sa? - mosin 15:17:49 09/19/06 (8)
Play it. I consider it to be AT's best MM cartridge, and I'm not alone with that opinion. Don't put an ATS13 on it.
- Agree! - anumber1 15:58:59 09/19/06 (7)
  I have one also. It is a fine cartridge worthy of a new 14Sa shibata stylus. You will not find that kind of quality in any of todays moving magnet offerings.
  --
  Al G
  Born To Tinker!
  - Should I buy a NOS stylus? - lpspinner 16:22:38 09/19/06 (6)
    Should I buy a NOS ATS14 stylus or will it be too old? I noticed that Ed Saunders has some on eBay.
    - They are available here (link) - HenryH 04:05:22 09/20/06 (0)
      Henry
      A 12-gauge shotgun is the ultimate arbiter of disputes - G. Gordon Liddy
      Stereo Needles (Open in New Window)
    - I belive the part number is going to be... - anumber1 16:54:49 09/19/06 (4)
      ...ATN14 not ATS14! Be carefull!
      AT stylus part numbers are very easily confused as there is a cartridge called a AT14s (that has a slightly a different body I belive) it is different than a 14Sa.
      --
      Al G
      Born To Tinker!
      AT styli at StereoNeedles.com (Open in New Window)
      - Re: I belive the part number is going to be... - mosin 17:33:14 09/19/06 (3)
        
        In Reply to: I belive the part number is going to be... posted by anumber1 on September 19, 2006 at 16:54:49:
        
        The ATS14 fits a lesser white bodied AT. Of course, Al is right about the part number, so an ATN14 is what the cartridges uses. You may not even need a stylus because the AT suspension is particularly rugged. You can trust an NOS replacement for that same reason, if you feel that one is needed.
        An aside - Ed Saunders will tell you anything, so file that away when you are considering a seller.
        
        Lessor white bodied cart - creativepart 21:15:51 09/19/06 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Re: I belive the part number is going to be... posted by mosin on September 19, 2006 at 17:33:14:
        
        I've got one of those "lessor white bodied carts"... an ATMK12sII and it sounds great. I'd love to hear the AT14Sa if it's better. Does any place specialize in these OLD AT Carts?
        Do any of the new AT surpass these? I've tried the OC9MLII, already.
        Paul
        
        Re: Lessor white bodied cart - anumber1 04:17:56 09/20/06 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Lessor white bodied cart posted by creativepart on September 19, 2006 at 21:15:51:
        
        I think my 15Sa on an ADC LMF-1 carbon fiber tonearm beats my SME 309/AT OC9ML/II setup at times in some areas.
        The AT 14Sa, 15Xe, 15Sa, 15SS, and 20Sa are amazing cartridges that are often discarded/ignored due to their age. They were the pinnacle of AT's moving magnet cartridge design however, just in time for perfect sound forever to come along. Much like Mosin and Ray-o-Stat's recent "sleeper" ADC cartridge discovery, the higher end 80's AT's are pretty much as good as a cartridge can get if you like their "house sound".
        --
        Al G
        Born To Tinker!
        
        I believe the white cartridge bodies were "house brand"..... - KVR 12:38:07 09/24/06 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Lessor white bodied cart posted by anumber1 on September 20, 2006 at 04:17:56:
        
        ....back in 1979 i bought my new TD-160c turntable at Sun Stereo for $79.95, then proceeded down the street to Pacific Stereo and bought my AT14sa cartridge for $59.00. They wanted $79.00 for that metal gold/purple model, and instead offered me the white plastic bodied 'house' model of the 'same' cartridge, with purple stylus housing. I was depressed as I only had a certain amount left from my paper route money, and wanted the other. The sales guy stopped me almost at the exit door, and said he would give me the better AT14sa for the same $59 price....score! Cartridge has never been off the headshell since, and I just bought a new genuine AT stylus for it...25 years later......which was more than the cost of the original cartridge...ironic. -Ken
It's a good one - creativepart 13:30:23 09/19/06 (4)
That's a good cartridge. You'll be surprised. You can get a stylis at: http://www.stereoneedles.com/audio-technica.html. It will cost you $87 but I just did this with a ATMK12sII cartridge and it is surprising how good this cartridge is. I've decided to leave it in my main system.
Acording to the stylis chart in my AT cart box the burgundy 14s stylis has the following specs:
Frequency: 5 - 45,000hz
Channel sep: 27 db
Stylis: nude shibata
2.7mV output
It's the top of the line stylis for those 1980's AT carts. I put a ATS12S stylis on mine because that's what it was spec'd for that model. But I wish I had just put the better 14s Stylis on it while I was at it.
The 13s has a ".2 by .7 nude elliptical" stylis, but for some reason all the specs for the 13s are not as good as the 12s or the 14s.
The specs for the 13s are:
Frequency: 10 - 30,000hz
Channel sep: 25 db
Stylis: nude .2 by .7 nude elliptical
4,2 mV output
I don't know why the output is higher? Maybe it's lower compliance. Supposedly you can put anything from a 10s to a 14s on the same cart body.
Paul Green
- Not sure... - 4yanx 21:54:20 09/19/06 (0)
  ..what you meant by "top of the line". While I agree that the 14 is a VERY nice cartridge, there was also an AT15 and AT20 and a variety of stylus types for each. I think that I now have them all (cartridges and styli). :-) The ATN15XE is just a SUPER stylus, it being eliptical, as opposed to Shibata (the Shibatas, while good were intended to be used in either 2- or 4-channel systems). On my Ay15, the "E" stylus sounds best. Just food for thought. These are all great carts for the dough, starting with the14 and working higher.
- Is the ATS12 the same stylus as the ATS14S? (nt) - lpspinner 16:34:03 09/19/06 (2)
  nt
  - Huh? - creativepart 21:12:11 09/19/06 (0)
    I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. I'm not positive of the proper stylis for yours. Mine needed the ATS12s stylis. Look at the stylis you have now, and the photos on the link I gave you.
    I could see from the photo that some looked like mine and some didn't.
    It looks like you've been answered above too.
    These are great carts and not to be overlooked. Really.
    Paul
  - Correction: is the ATS12 the same as the ATS12S? (nt) - lpspinner 16:35:28 09/19/06 (0)
    nt

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Parts Connexion

You can not post to an archived thread.