Audio Technica stylus upgrade


Hi all,

I have the Marantz TT-15S Turntable (which I love) with the factory Clearaudio cartridge. I upgraded the stylus way back with the AT-VM95 microline stylus with amazing results. Do I go the next step with the Shibata or am I wasting my money on diminishing returns? I'd play with carts but since this table does not have a removable headshell I'm not really interested. I'm kind of at my happy place with my current system so of course I can't leave well enough alone.

Merry Christmas all! 

Ed

edbay

Well, it’s the cartridges innards, and cantilever's suspension

Ortofon talks about upgrades to Sapphire, then Boron being slightly better than Sapphire

here’s a Boron upgrade

Nude Shibata diamond on a boron cantilever

Stylus

The 2M Black LVB 250 upgrades the great build of the 2M Black with a Nude Shibata diamond on a boron cantilever. The use of an extremely stiff and lightweight Boron cantilever adds remarkable transparency, speed, and responsiveness.

The Nude Shibata stylus’ slim, highly polished profile allows an exceedingly wide contact area to the groove walls and ensures notably detailed reproduction throughout the spectrum, including even the highest frequencies.

.............................

chakster was still around in this discussion of your mc2000

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/classic-ortofon-cartridges-the-mc2000-mk-ii-or-the-mc3000-mk-ii

I suppose it is possible to have a cartridge aligned well-enough for, say, an elliptical stylus, which you then change to something more advanced, and suddenly you find you need a more accurate alignment?

I'm becoming more nervous about installing anything new, as I don't want to upset the applecart. And it's probably true that the longer I keep gear, the more my brain accepts its sound as the way things ought to be. All of which is good for my cachectic bank balance. So if you find your results are amazing with your current stylus, you might think carefully. Might you be better off buying a couple of records rather than the stylus?

if you want to fiddle around with not much or little improvement if any go to it.

@lewm 

It is because you have aluminum ears:-)

@edbay 

I do believe that the ML stylus is better than the Shibata which is easier to make. I would stick with it.

@dogberry 

That is exceedingly true and may be the reason for "break in" in some instances. The person is accommodating to the sound, the new normal. Most people do not measure their systems and have no idea what their systems are doing. I have seen some pretty awful normalcy in very expensive systems.  

@dogberry 

You are an audiophile! Suck it up and get out that protractor. Lofgren B DIN please.