I believe there is a discussion elsewhere on this forum about Pickering XSV replacement styli sold in the USA. I think the vendor is LP gear. The LP gear product bears a Shibata stylus. In my opinion and in the opinion of several others who contributed to that thread, the Shibata stylus should be very satisfactory as a replacement for the stereoHedron. Plus, it’s not super expensive. Chakster did not agree.
Pickering XSV 3000 replacement stylus- are they worth it?
to say that I am enamored with the performance of the XSV 3000 on the new Technics 1200G is an understatement. How are the replacement styluses for this cartridge? are they worth it? I have the original Stereohedron and although is still performs very well, well, nothing lasts forever.
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Dear @tzh21y : Lewm is rigth and Shibata shape is better than the original Stanto/Pickering. This is what you need: https://www.lpgear.com/product/PICKSXSV5000.html R. |
Original Stereohedron available in two versions from Stanton, the latest version was Stereohedron mk II. People have no idea what they are talking about, because there are TWO Stereohedron profiles. If you (for some reason, I can’t imagine why) don’t like Mk1 then try Mk2 stylus. I like Shibata from Victor, but not from LP Gear (I do not trust them and information they are providing for their “fake” styli for various carts is tricky, stylus profile alone is nothing, with different stylus/cantilever/damper/magnet the output and frequency response can be way different from the original). I also explained in another thread that genuine Stanton/Pickering have a rare earth Samarium Cobalt Magnet. The XSV/5000 has better specs than XSV/3000, I never tried to swap styli between 3000 and 5000 series, but I think some other user did that, can’t remember. Exchange rate of GBP is pretty low now, so the Expert stylus in UK is an option. Here we are talking about PARATRACE profile and this is the same profile MC lovers are using on their retipped Decca, Ikeda . This is wonderful parabolic profile, no questions about it. From Pickering manual: SAMARIUM COBALT MAGNET The XSV Series stereo cartridges utilizes advanced design features originally developed for use in the manufacture of the finest four channel discrete cartridges. A low mass, ultra powerful samarium cobalt magnet assures accurate tracking or high velocity modulations in the groove. The result is true fidelity, great sound and longer life for record collections. THE STEREOHEDRON STYLUS Stereohedron stylus can be used for 1000 hrs. We recommend checking your stylus every 250 hrs. Like its cousin, the Quadrahedral, the STEREOHEDRON stylus is shaped to provide an enlarged area of record groove contact, while providing the ability to accurately trace the high frequency, the level modulations found on today's records, thus, the Stereohedron stylus provides superior performance which low stylus wear and low record wear for your stereo records. This cartridge will perform superbly not only with stereo, but with four-channel matrix derived systems (SQ, QS, etc). |
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